Alternate Dimension
by MarioFan500
Summary: While Mario and his friends are in Subcon, Bowser sends his son to capture the Princess. Seven unexpected figures appear and make the plan goes awry. Bowser and co. must now go and save Peach from an alternate dimension.
1. Plot

"We're almost here," cried Bowser Jr. to the crew of the airship.

Bowser had sent him off with the usual mission to kidnap Peach. The tyrant had also entrusted his son to manage the airship alone. He wasn't really alone, as he had received help from the Koopalings. People would think this was uncoordinated and tiresome, but this time, Bowser had thought ahead. Mario and all his friends had went on a vacation in Subcon. They had begged Peach to come, but the blonde princess said she needed to manage her kingdom. However, that wouldn't work well, as the enemy's son and elite minions were approaching.

"Great! What exactly is the plan again," asked Lemmy.

"You need to learn how to focus, Lemmy! He explained this less than an hour ago," cried Ludwig, arriving into the deck. "Bowser Jr. is going to go on a solo mission to retrieve Peach. It's as simple as that!"

"But what if it fails," questioned Lemmy.

"It can't fail, Lemmy. This plan is foolproof," said the eldest Koopaling.

"Yeah, Lemmy. I'm pretty sure I can handle Peach on my own. Remember, Mario and co. are nowhere to be," agreed Bowser Jr.

"Whatever you say," muttered Lemmy.

"Guys," came an energetic voice.

The three Koopas turned to see Iggy speeding towards them. With his large, turnip-shaped green hair, Iggy broke off into a light sprint until stopping just before the three of them.

"We're less than a mile away! Be prepared to jump, Bowser Jr.," Iggy warned.

"Nice statue report, Iggy. I'm heading towards the front of the ship right now," said Bowser Jr.

He walking to the front of the ship, purposely building up suspension. Bowser Jr. gazed down at the grassy terrain of the Mushroom Kingdom. He noticed that the citizens were calm and organized at the morning, meaning they would be oblivious to any attack led by a member of Bowser's army.

"Are you sure you don't need out help," asked Lemmy.

"Of course he's sure, Lemmy. Bowser has been planning this for months. Lord Bowser, I mean," Iggy said nervously looking at the Koopa prince.

"In fact, here," said Bowser Jr., tossing his magic paintbrush to Ludwig. "Keep on eye on that, Ludwig."

Bowser Jr. looked back and gave them all one last confident smile before leaping to the ground below. The three brothers watched him go in complete silence. They then spoke amongst each other when he was gone.

"Well, that's the end of that," Iggy said.

"Yep," Ludwig agreed, heading back to the lower deck.

Iggy followed him down the steps. However, Lemmy just couldn't stop thinking about the mission. He just couldn't accept that everything would go one hundred percent according to plan.

"Hold up, guys," he yelled, running to catch up with his brothers.

"Yeah," asked Iggy.

"Maybe we should help him out, just in case," Lemmy explained.

"Nonsense," roared Ludwig. He led them down the hallway and opened one of the many doors.

Inside, was a small room. It was perfect for relaxing and even had a few wooden benches for one to rest on. Ludwig entered and plopped down on the bench. Iggy sat across from him. Lemmy sat beside Iggy.

"Ludwig, you don't have any second thoughts about this," Lemmy asked his only older sibling.

"About what?"

The brothers turned to see their only sister enter the room. Wendy held a slice of cake as she walked into the room. Wendy sat down on one of the other benches.

"Oh, Lemmy thinks something could go wrong with the plan," explained Ludwig.

"Yeah, it's pretty dumb if you ask me," Iggy said.

"Actually, I'm with Lemmy. I believe not everything will occur to expectation," Wendy argued.

"You're kidding, right? We've been brainstorming for weeks," said Ludwig.

"Well, I guess this is what we get for thinking Wendy would agree with us, Ludwig," Iggy said.

Iggy then glanced nervously at his little sister. Wendy looked back. She then finished off the cake and stood up slowly. She then dashed forwards and leapt on Iggy. He pushed her off and hurried out of the room. Wendy chased him other of the room. This continued onto the hallway, where Wendy pounced on him, and began to beat him to a pulp.

Back in the room, Lemmy glared at Ludwig.

"Come on, bro," he said.

"Nope," Ludwig said flatly exiting the room and walking past Wendy and Iggy.


	2. Anonymous Threat

Unbeknownst to the crew of the airship, seven mysterious figures were approaching Peach's Castle. With an origin unknown to the local citizens of Toad Town or to the Koopa Troop, the figures tried to remain out of sight as much as possible. They did everything necessary to accomplish the feat. They hid in trash cans, under bridges, and even in trees to avoid the eyes of the oblivious Toads.

Within twenty-five minutes, they arrived at the castle. Two Toads with Spears were standing guard outside tell front doors. One Toad donned a cap with blue spots and the other Toad wore one with yellow spots. While not really threats, the seven figures knew they would have to face them.

"Hey, you there! This is Princess Peach's Castle. I'm obliged to harm you if you get any closer," warned the Yellow Toad.

"Well, the same goes for you. We'll have to harm _you_ if you don't move," replied one if the seven, a Koopa in his late teens with a dark blue mohawk.

"Was that a threat," demanded the Yellow Toad.

"Maybe, maybe not," the Koopa said casually.

"You know what, I'm tired of you," yelled the Toad.

The Yellow Toad grabbed his spear in both hands and dashed towards the Koopa. In one swift motion, he jumped in front of him and thrust the spear forwards. At the last second, the Koopa dodged and kicked the spear to the side. Desperate, the Yellow Toad made a mad dash for the spear, but the Koopa bashed him on the head with a magic wand. The Yellow Toad instantly became unconscious.

"Oh yeah! That's one point for Cheatsy," yelled Koopa.

"Cheatsy, huh?"

"Oh, I forgot about him. Bully?"

The largest of the seven Koopas, a muscular, pink headed guy who wore a spiked collar underneath his head dashed towards the other Toad and punched him square across the jaw. The Blue Toad was flung into the door, where he blocked out upon instant contact with a hard surface.

Cheatsy and his brother high-fived. They then opened the door and went inside, followed by the other five Koopas.

Bowser Jr. wandered aimlessly throughout the halls of Peach's Castle. _Ugh...What's going on,_ he thought. _Peach should have been there._ What he said was true. When he searched throughout her room, the Throne Room, and her kitchen, he just couldn't find her. He began to get worried. _How could the one time things were going to right, Peach isn't even here?_ He then found himself near the living room, so he decided to search in there, too. Nothing. He sighed, continuing to walk through the castle.

Bowser Jr. then went to the next floor to repeat the process. He still found nothing. He then gave up. He stomped down the stairs. Just a few yards from the main hallway, the ceiling rumbled above him. Instinctively, he jumped back.

Seven Koopas crashed through the ceiling and landed before him. They all turned around to look at him. All seven Koopas had there own distinctive features. One bad a pink and had a pink shell. Anotger Koopa had darker skin, but had purple eyelids and a gray head with a birthmark. W rather wild one had a lion's mane if wild blue hair and one, pointy tooth. The next one had squinted eyes and a dark blue mohawk. The only girl wore a huge bow and lipstick. She also wore shoes, had a tiny bow on her tail, and had a mole on her face. The last two Koopas were twins. One was larger than the other and wore glasses. The wore spikeless cuffs, unlike their siblings. At last, they spoke.

"Hey, you! Get out if here before you have to clobber you!"

Bowser Jr. faced the person who spoke. It was the largest of the siblings. Bowser Jr. was a little intimidated, bit not afraid. He took a step forward.

"Um, no thanks. I had plans involving this establishment, and I plan to carry them out," he countered.

"Oh, a wise guy? I know how to deal with your type," said Bully.

"I'm surprised you know anything. Those shades make you look very foolish," Bowser Jr. said casually.

"Says the guy wearing a bib," said one of the other Koopas, the one with the wild, blue hair. "Listen up, kid. Tell us your name, and maybe we'll tell you a little about us."

"Fine," Bowser Jr. agreed. "I am Prince Bowser Koopa Jr., son of Lord Bowser Koopa, and next in line for his empire."

The seven siblings looked amongst each other. "That's impossible," Bully yelled. "Bowser Koopa is our dad!"

"Hey buddy, how about holding your end of the deal and tell me about yourselves," said the Koopa prince.

"Okay...How's this for starters? My name is Bully Koopa. This here," he said, pointing to the Koopa with the fuzzy, blue hair. "This is my younger brother, Kooky."

"And I'm Cheatsy," Cheatsy yelled, jumping up to stand by his brothers.

"Now that you've introduced yourselves, why are you, here" asked Bowser Jr.

"Our fair dad sent us on a mission to retrieve a fair woman by the name of Princess Toadstool," Bully said.

"Yeah! We would have been back by now if you wouldn't have shown up," yelled Cheatsy.

 _Dang,_ Bowser Jr. thought. _Princess Toadstool is Princess Peach. These guys came for her. Also, why do they look like the Koopalings?_ This was true. While he didn't notice at first, the siblings looked vvery much like the Koopalings. _Oh right! The Koopalings!_

He suddenly formed an idea. Behind his shell, he took out his phone and set it to "mute." Quickly and quietly, he texted Ludwig. Glancing over his shoulder just at the danger zone of almost being caught, he sent his message.

"Hey! What are you doing over there," demanded the female Koopa.

"Nothing," the Koopa prince responded, slipping his phone away.

He then felt footsteps getting closer. Several people were approaching at an alarming rate.

"What's that," asked Bully.

"You're about to find out," Bowser Jr. said slyly.

Growling, the larger Koopa grabbed him by the arm. He held Bowser Jr. hostage.

"Squirt! Are you all right?"

All heads turned to see the pink and purple heavyweight Koopaling advancing towards them. Swinging with the most superior of swagger, Roy came closer. Pushing his way through the other six if the seven sinister siblings, he came face to face to Bully.

"I don't know who you are, but you're gonna pay for jacking my style," Roy roared.

He pushed Bully to the ground, who let go of Bowser Jr. The Koopa prince ran off.

Bully glared at his opponent and stood back up. He punched the purple-shelled Koopaling in the cheek. Roy retaliated with a sharp uppercut. Bully was blowm backwards. He recovered and charged at Roy, knocking off balance. The second-heaviest Koopaling fell over and Bully kicked him over. Roy rolled over and leapt at him. He pulled him down to the red carpet, and they engaged in an intense fist fight. They fought like this for five minutes, until Ludwig walked up behind them.

"Roy, what did you do-?"

Ludwig paused when he saw his brother fighting an almost exact replica. He turned around and saw Kooky staring at him curiously. Ludwig stared back

"Bully! That's enough! We already have what we came for! Let's move out," shouted Kooky.

Bully nodded. He pushed Roy out of the way and walked down the hallway. His siblings followed.

"What was that about, Roy?"

"It was just a new clan of enemies," Roy said.

Ludwig and Roy began to walk in the opposite direction.

"Should we tell the others," Roy asked.

"Yeah. Except for Lemmy," Ludwig agreed.

"What did Lemmy do, Ludwig?"

"It's nothing. Let's go," responded the eldest Koopaling.

With that, the two brothers headed for the airship. As Lemmy had predicted, things had gone terribly wrong. Roy made a new enemy, and Ludwig saw something he wasn't expecting. Peach was nowhere to be found, so they were missing the key element to Bowser's endless villainy. All the crew of the airship had to do now was face the wrath of an angry Bowser.


	3. Angry Bowser

"Okay. It's almost time for action," Bowser Jr. said nervously to Ludwig.

"Crap. Don't remind me," Ludwig replied. "I'll just help you get this over with."

"Thanks, Ludwig. I know I'm not your favorite person, but you still choose to help me. I don't get it," Bowser Jr. said.

"Don't think to deep about it. I'm just myself from accusation, and doing thst leads to helping you," the eldest Koopaling explained.

"You know, Ludwig, you're all right," said the Koopa prince.

Ludwig slightly smiled at this comment. "You too," he said.

"I'm coming too," Roy said, coming up onto the deck.

"Yeah, good idea. We need all the evidence we can get," Bowser Jr. said. "Onto my dad's castle!"

Five minutes later, Ludwig, Roy, and Bowser Jr. found themselves walking through a long hallway. As they had failed the task to kidnap Peach, they now had to see Bowser. Although he was the tyrant's only child, the Koopa prince found himself getting nervous as he approached the door to Bowser's throne room.

"Remember, act normal. Don't let anything slip," Ludwig warned. Roy and Bowser Jr. nodded in obedience, and followed Ludwig into the Throne Room.

Inside, Bowser sat on his throne. He had two Koopa Kids with him. One Koopa Kid was fanning him, and the other one was holding a tray of various fruits to satisfy the great Koopa's hunger. Upon seeing his son and two of his top minions enter the room, he stopped munching on the grapefruit he was holding, and acknowledged their presence.

"Junior! Where's the princess?"

"I...Um...," was the Koopa prince's reply.

"I ask you again. Where is the princess?"

"Um, Master Bowser? When we arrived at Peach's Castle, she wasn't there," Roy replied, trying to control his nerves.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN?!"

"What Roy means, Master Bowser, is that Peach was nowhere to be found," answered Ludwig.

"Yeah, Dad! That's what happened," Bowser Jr. said, nodding appreciatively to Ludwig and Roy.

"I don't believe! We've been planning this for months! The one time Mario, Luigi, and all other threats are gone, Peach isn't even home! What are the odds," Bowser growled.

"Yep. It looks lile this was a case of bad luck," Roy lied.

Bowser faced him. Upon seeing him, thetyrant'seyes widened. He eyed the Koopaling up and down. "Roy, why are you covered with scars?"

Roy's face froze, along with those of Ludwig and Bowser Jr. Due to the trip back to Bowser's Castle, Roy hadn't had the time to cover up the bandages. Now, as he stood before the great and powerful Lord Bowser, he had no idea of how to respond.

"Oh. You know me, Master Bowser. I tripped over something," Roy replied, trying to change the subject.

"You fell," Bowser questioned suspiciously.

"Well, yeah. Morton and I were wrestling, and I tripped over his leg," Roy said.

"Yes," Ludwig said. "It's nothing serious, Master Bowser."

"Whatever," replied Bowser. He stood up and walked over to his son.

"I don't know where she is. I want you to find her. Alone."

Bowser Jr. stared at his dad, shocked.

"Okay. Interrogation over," Bowser said. "Ludwig, Roy, you can go home now."

The two Koopalings nodded, and exited the Throne Room. Bowser Jr. watched them leave.

"Junior, I must say I'm disappointed in you," Bowser told his son.


	4. Telling Iggy

"So what exactly _did_ happen in Peach's Castle," Iggy asked Ludwig.

The two of them were resting on one of the couches in the Koopalings' living room. Roy was in the room as well. He was relaxing two the left of them in a recliner.

"Well, nothing really," Ludwig replied.

"Nothing? What do you mean nothing? You two were in there for a long time, and didn't come back with Peach," Iggy countered.

"Look, Iggy. We're really tired and don't feel like talking right now," Roy said.

"Why are you tired," Iggy asked.

"Iggy," Ludwig and Roy said simultaneously.

"Sorry, guys. I'm just really interested in what happened," Iggy told his older brothers.

"Well don't be," Ludwig said flatly.

The three Koopalings then heard someone coming down the stairs. Ludwig, Roy, and Iggy turned around to see Larry leaping down the stairs.

"I heard you guys from my room. The atmosphere in here doesn't feel too bright, so I brought a movie we can watch. You guys are really tired, so I thought we could all just watch a movie together," said the youngest Koopaling.

"That sounds nice, Larry, but Roy and I just feel like resting to zero noice. Iggy would gladly watch movies with you, though," Ludwig said, volunteering Iggy.

"Come on, guys. It's been a long time since we've all just hung out. Can't we just watch a movie? Come on, Ludwig," Larry begged.

"Fine, Larry. We'll watch movies with you," Ludwig sighed, defeated.

"Great! I'll just go fetch Lemmy, Wendy, and Morton," Larry yelled excitedly. He dashed up the stairs to fetch his other siblings and some movies for them to watch.

"You know what? If this is where we landed, I better tell you now. Iggy, we ran into some guys that sort of resembled us," Ludwig whispered.

"What do you mean, Ludwig," Roy asked, entering the conversation.

"Oh come on, Roy! You didn't notice that those guys looked like us," Ludwig whispered.

"They did? Sorry bro, I was too busy fighting," Roy explained.

"Guys, that sounds pretty odd. These guys were at Peach's Castle, and made the mission go even more awry than they already were," Iggy questioned.

Any further conversation was eliminated by the sound of approaching footsteps. Led by Larry, the other four Koopalings dashed down the stairs. Larry was holding a DVD.

"Hey Larry, what movie is that," asked Roy.

"It's just this funny action movie I found at the convenient store last week," Larry said.

"So basically, we don't even get to vote on the movie we watch," Wendy asked, annoyed.

"Nope," Morton whispered to her. "It's just one of the many cons to having a younger sibling."

"Look who's talking," muttered Ludwig.

Lemmy, Roy, Iggy, Wendy, and Morton laughed.

"Are you guys watching the movie with me or not?! Either way, I'm watching it and that's all that really matters to me?! I can have fun without he guys," Larry yelled, having a little tantrum.

"We're watching the movie with you. Jeez," Iggy said.

Larry ran over to the TV and inserted the disc. He chose his spot on the couch, and the other Koopalings filled in from there. The seven siblings watched the movie until they all became tired and went to sleep.


	5. Unknown Thief

The Koopalings were restored to consciousness that morning by a rhythmic pounding at their door. Groaning, Ludwig stood up. He pulled out his phone. It read 9:30 A. M. The other Koopalings then sat up. One by one, the other six Koopalings acknowledged the banging at the door. Due to the fact that he was the youngest, the older six Koopalings immediately decided that Larry should open the door.

"Hey, someone's at the door. Go get it, Larry," Ludwig said, yawning.

"Why me?," questioned Larry. "Lemmy is the closest to the door."

"Lemmy's not the youngest," Lemmy said, frowning at his little-big brother.

"Oh, come on," Larry moaned. "You guys always push me around. This in injustice!"

"Larry! Shut up and get the door!" Wendy yelled. The knocking suddenly increased drastically.

"Fine," Larry muttered.

He stood up and walked over to the door. Larry opened it to see Bowser standing there with a furious look on his face. The reptilian tyrant entered the Koopalings' house quickly. He clenched his fists as he walked across the wooden floor. Bowser paced back and forth before stopping to face the Koopalings.

"I'm angry," Bowser muttered to the seven confused siblings.

"Uh, what's the problem, Master Bowser?" Iggy questioned.

"Let's just say a large amount of money is not longer in my castle. I have reasons to believe it was a thief," the scarlet-haired Koopa explained.

"You were robbed? Who in their right mind would try to steal from you?" Ludwig asked.

"A moron, that's who," Roy said.

"I'm just so _angry!_ " Bowser yelled, punching into the air.

"Um, let me fetch you a drink," Larry quickly said, disappearing into the kitchen.

He then peaked his head around the corner to face the others. "What do you desire?"

"I want some lemonade, and make it snappy!" Bowser ordered to the youngest Koopaling.

"Yes sir, Lord Bowser sir!"

Larry then headed back to the kitchen to prepare a glass of lemonade for Bowser. As he went through the ingredients, he came across another problem.

"Do you want pink or regular?" he called.

"It doesn't matter! Just make the lemonade, Larry!" Bowser roared.

"So, Lord Bowser, is there anything else you want to discuss with us?" Ludwig asked.

"Yeah, in fact there is," Bowser answered, sitting down on the couch. The Koopalings crowded around him.

"I want you, Ludwig, and one of your siblings to stand guard around my supply of coins," he said.

"How do you know the thief will strike again?" Lemmy asked.

"I don't, but-."

"Therefore, we shouldn't stand guard. I'm sure every good thief knows not to go after the same place twice," Iggy said.

"Unless they're a moron," Larry added, walking into the living room to deliver Bowser's lemonade.

Bowser swiped the lemonade from Larry and finished it in one massive sip. "Refreshing," he said happily before standing up. "Ludwig, listen to me. I know I've been wrong before, but trust me this time."

"Sorry, Lord Bowser, but the first time, you're not gonna come in here and ruin our plans," Ludwig stated, coldly.

"Bye," Lemmy said, turning his back to Bowser.

The next day, the Koopalings had decided to stay home and relax. Morton had prepared a huge lunch comprised of grilled cheese, pizza, french fries, hamburgers, fruits, and various juices. With the decision of staying home, and the large supply of food just waiting for them in the kitchen, the seven siblings just enjoyed a feast. As they ate, all their worries washed away. Without any negative feelings or worries, the Koopalings talked amongst one another and just had a good time.

"You know, this is pretty great!" Roy exclaimed.

"You're right! These grilled cheese sandwiches are absolutely splendid, Morton," Iggy told his younger, but larger, brother.

"Oh. Thanks, Iggy. I just decided I was going to learn how to cook," Morton said casually.

"Well, you did a great job!" Iggy noted.

"The pizza is pretty great, too!" Larry yelled.

"I know grease isn't really good for you, but I can't help myself," Wendy said, hypnotized by the greasy, cheesy goodness that lay in her hand.

"I gave up a long time ago," Ludwig said, placing his hand on his little sister's shoulder.

"I hope this never ends," Lemmy said.

"Yeah! Me neither," Larry agreed.

Finished, Roy stood up from the table and pushed his chair up. "I'm gonna go in the living room and fall asleep on the couch. This was fun and all, but I'm really tired," said the purple-shelled Koopaling.

"Okay. Thanks for having lunch with us, bro," Iggy called after him as he left.

As soon as the estimated time it would take Roy to reach the couch met the mark, there was yet another knocking at the door. The remaining Koopalings listened as Roy groaned and rolled off the couch. He slowly stood up and trudged lazily over to the door. He opened it.

"Oh, Lord Bowser. What's going on?" Ludwig, Lemmy, Iggy, Wendy, Morton, and Larry heard Roy ask. They quickly jumped up from the table and dashed into the living room to see Bowser standing by the door.

"Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong! I told you guys!" Bowser yelled triumphantly to the Koopalings.

"What are you talking about?" Wendy asked, sitting in her chosen spot on the couch.

"Don't tell me you've forgotten already. I'm talking about the thievery. I asked Ludwig and another one of you to do a nighttime surveillance of the facility," Bowser said to the seven siblings.

"Oh, right! That thing!" Lemmy exclaimed, remembering the conversation with Bowser the day before.

"How did you prove us wrong?" Morton asked Bowser.

Bowser's face then contorted into one of rage. "I was robbed...again," he said quietly.

"It looks like you were robbed by a moron," Lemmy told the tyrant.

"Hey, Lemmy? Who are all the dumb thieves we know?" Larry asked Lemmy.

"Let's see. Well, there's Wario and Waluigi," Lemmy said, picturing the two greedy Italian men in his head.

"Wario and Waluigi know not to step foot inside Bowser's Castle. Plus, I don't know about Waluigi, but Wario despises Master Bowser in every way to the point where he doesn't even want to steal from him," Ludwig said to his younger brothers.

"Also, there's Nabbit," Lemmy tried, picturing the mischievous rabbit thief easily intruding on Bowser's property and stealing from him.

"Nabbit doesn't do big missions. He mainly targets Toad Houses and old mining operations," Iggy said.

"What about Wart? He's not exactly on your side, Master Bowser," Larry inquired.

"No. Wart knows not to leave Subcon. If he does, he knows I'll come for him. Also, he should be occupied dealing with Mario and his friends right now," answered Bowser.

"Well, maybe-."

"No! I'very had enough of your guessing games! Ludwig and...Lemmy! Follow me! We're going to my castle, right now," Bowser roared.

With that, he led Ludwig and Lemmy out the door and they began the walk to Bowser's Castle.

Once they disappeared, Roy grabbed Iggy and yanked him into a corner away from the others.

"Iggy, I think those look-a-likes we told you about are behind this," he whispered aggressively to his younger brother.

"Are you sure?"

"I don't have any evidence, but I'm positive."

"I wonder if Ludwig has considered that possibility," pondered Iggy.

"Don't worry about Ludwig, Iggy. He'll be fine," Roy said.

"Hey! What are you guys whispering about over there?" Wendy asked Roy and Iggy.

"It's nothing you should worry about, Wendy," Iggy answered.

"Why? Because I'm your little sister?" she asked sarcastically.

"Exactly!" Larry shouted.

Wendy started charging towards him. Larry jumped on Morton's shell and the larger Koopa ran from Wendy. Larry gave them a thumbs-up as he left.

"Does he know?" Iggy asked Roy.

"Let's hope not," responded the older Koopaling.


	6. The Chaotic Night Shift

"This is why I need your help," Bowser said to Ludwig and Lemmy as the two followed him through one of the castle's long, stone hallways.

It was now late at night, and Bowser thought he should show the two oldest Koopalings where they need to stand guard for the night. Leading the two throughout the castle, they had come across minions of various faces, including Motley Bossblob, Pom Pom, the Koopa Bros., and others. While trekking the establishment, they were greeted by a myriad of Goombas, Koopa Troopas, and Spikes. Bowser had grinned proudly during this moment, obviously satisfied with what he had accomplished. Now, leading the eldest two of a clan of seven siblings that were among his most elite soldiers, he had a goal to capture a thief that had stolen from him.

Imagine that. Someone had stolen from Bowser, who was a thief himsel. It just bothered him so much to think that someone robbed the evil Koopa King. Not only that, however. The thief had struck him again. Already infuriated, this was he decided enough was enough. He had enlisted the help of Ludwig and Lemmy to capture any suspicious figures they see in the castle.

"I see," Ludwig replied, folding his arms. "I had other plans for tonight, you know."

"Don't be like that," Lemmy told his older brother. "We'll gladly help you, Lord Bowser."

"Good," the reptilian tyrant replied, reaching the large door at the end of the hallway. "In here."

Bowser opened the door, and his minions entered. He then proceeded to once again take the lead and came to a dead end with what resembled an elevator.

"Woah, is that an elevator?" Lemmy asked, happily.

"Yep. I've been working on upgrading things around the castle," Bowser answered. "Get in."

Bowser pressed the downward button to the side of the elevator and the doors slid open. The two siblings hurriedly stepped into it. Bowser followed suit. The doors then shut. The large Koopa then bent down to insert a floor to travel to. He pressed "B2", and the contraption began to perform its purpose.

"This feels so good!" Lemmy exclaimed, feeling the invention descend.

"Don't lose focus, Lemmy. We're here for a reason," Ludwig said to Lemmy.

"That's right!" yelled Bowser. "We should reach the destination in a few seconds."

He was right. At that very second, the elevator came to a sudden halt. Lemmy was thrown to the floor. His two companions laughed at him as he tried to regain his balance. Then, the doors once again slid open. Bowser exited first, and Ludwig and Lemmy followed him.

They found themselves in another hallway, but this floor was much darker. With just candles placed about every seven feet on the walls, the area had just below average illumination. Well, not for Bowser's Castle.

"I don't believe I've been here before," Ludwig said, gazing around with an astonished stare.

"Me neither," Lemmy said, almost hypnotized by the outright coolness of this hallway.

"Remember, you two have work to do. Follow me, again," Bowser said to the siblings.

He began to head down the long hallway. The two Koopalings followed him. Immediately, the two noticed that the interior design was so repeated, the hallway seemed to continue forever.

"How long have we been walking for? I'm tired," Lemmy complained.

"It's only been five minutes. Also, shut up," responded Bowser.

They continued walking like this for fifteen more minutes until they at last came to an open area wIth an extremely wide room. The ceiling was also very high, to the point where even Bowser could jump after least five feet.

Bowser started walking to the left, and the three of them came across two Hammer Bros. sitting on the stone floor. Upon seeing Bowser, they immediately began to appear as if they were working hard.

"Oh, Lord Bowser. It's so great to see you at this current time," said the first Hammer Bro.

"Yeah, we've been working so much, we lost track of the hour," added the second Hammer Bro.

"As if! I saw you guys relaxing. Give up the act," Bowser replied to the two minions, annoyed.

"Ah, man," whined the second Hammer Bro.

"All right. Listen up. These two," he started, signaling to Ludwig and Lemmy. "These guys are going to be taking your position."

"So you mean we're free?" exclaimed the first Hammer Bro., springing up from the floor.

"Uh, dude," the second Hammer Bro. said, cautiously pointing at the slightly miffed Bowser.

"It's fine. Get out of here," Bowser said to the terrified Hammer Bros.

"Yes, Lord Bowser!" the two yelled, bolting away from the three.

Once they left, Bowser got down to business. "I'll see you guys tomorrow. Do your best," Bowser said, disappearing back down the hallway.

"So, Lemmy, who gets the first shift?" Ludwig asked his brother once Bowser left.

"Shifts?"

"Yeah. We take turns monitoring the area. Let's switch about every half of the hour."

"Okay. That sounds good to me," Lemmy agreed, pulling out his fists. "Rock-paper-scissors. Best of three."

"Deal," responded Ludwig, revealing his hand.

"Rock...paper...scissors...shoot!"

Ludwig chose Rock and Lemmy chose Scissors.

"Rock...paper...scissors...shoot!"

This time, Ludwig chose Paper and Lemmy chose Scissors.

"Last time. Rock...paper...scissors...shoot!" Lemmy yelled.

Ludwig chose Scissors and Lemmy chose Paper.

"Ha! I win!" Ludwig cried. He plopped down to the floor and began napping. "Wake me up in thirty minutes."

"Whatever you say," Lemmy said.

The following hours occurred like this. Ludwig and Lemmy kept taking different shifts. With the night growing restless, and with the watch seeming fruitless, it seemed like the thieves weren't going to show. On Ludwig's fifth shift, however, things began to change.

Ludwig went down one of the other hallays and came across three Koopas from the recent past. Bully, Kooky, and Cheatsy immediately eyed him as he rounded the corner.

"Hey! You're that punk from two days ago!" Bully yelled.

"Technically, it was three days ago. It's past midnight," Kooky told his brother.

"Don't do this now," Cheatsy responded, facepalming. "We have someone to have a little fun with."

"Hey, you're right. Anyways, what brings you here?" Kooky asked Ludwig.

"What do you mean? You should be asking why I wouldn't be here. You guys have been stealing from my boss!" Ludwig yelled aggressively to his enemies.

"The owner of this castle is your boss?" questioned Cheatsy.

"We're in luck, guys. It looks like we get to get some free money and settle some unfinished business," Bully said, cracking his knuckles.

"This castle is patrolled constantly. Any crime you commit can be tracked down," Ludwig responded to the three siblings.

"Well, then, why haven't we been captured for our theft of your boss's wealth?" Kooky asked sarcastically.

"Ugh...You guys are really getting on my nerves," Ludwig glared at them.

"You got on our nerves when you interfered with our fun," Cheatsy replied.

"That wasn't me! That was my younger brother, Roy!" Ludwig yelled.

"Either way, you were there and you're gonna pay," Kooky sneered at Ludwig.

As the three siblings prepared to attack Ludwig, the eldest Koopaling prepared himself for a fight. However, he received unexpected help.

"Hey, Ludwig! Your shift is up!"

The four Koopas turned around in surprise. Lemmy's footsteps got closer and closer until he eventually stood in front of them.

"Hey! What's going on?" Lemmy questioned.

"Oh, it's nothing. We were just preparing to rough up your brother," Bully answered.

"Yeah! Leave, or we'll hurt you, you little runt!" Cheatsy yelled at Lemmy.

"Leave my brother alone," Lemmy said, approaching the intruders.

"What was that?" Bully asked.

He ran towards Lemmy and threw a fist at him. Then, something wonderful happened. Lemmy caught Bully's fist. As Bully gasped in shock, Lemmy struck his shoulder and dislocated it.

"Aughhh!" Bully yelled in pain. "You'll pay for that! Get him, guys!"

Kooky and Cheatsy lunged at the tiny Koopa. Lemmy summoned some of his own special bombs and laid them in front of him and Ludwig. Kooky and Cheatsy came to an abrupt stop and crashed to the floor.

"Take one my step and I'll blow you to bits!" Lemmy threatened.

"If you light those bombs, you'll surely be injured as well," Cheatsy said, trying to get Lemmy to put the bombs away.

"No we won't. Ludwig!"

Ludwig pulled out his magic wand and waved it. Two dark-blue magical shields appeared ando encompassed Ludwig and Lemmy.

"These we'll protect us," Lemmy said. "You have nothing to protect yourselves."

"The one day we don't bring our wands," muttered Kooky.

"My pride is nearly depleted," Bully sighed.

"Ludwig! Lemmy! Is everything alright?"

Upon hearing Bowser's elephant-like footsteps approach by the second, Kooky revealed a device. He pressed a button on the contraption and he and his brothers disappeared into a bright blur of light.

"Thanks, Lemmy," Ludwig said, surprised with his younger brother's display.

"No problem, Ludwig. You would do the same for me," Lemmy replied as Bowser reached them.

"The thieves just left, Lord Bowser. They have a teleportation device," Ludwig said as Bowser reached them.


	7. New Plans

"What?" Bowser questioned Ludwig.

Ludwig and Lemmy had been forced to reveal to Bowser what happened. Now, as their boss's comprehension grew, the brothers looked at each other in frustration. The reason Ludwig had kept it a secret from everyone besides Roy, Iggy, and now Lemmy, was to make sure Bowser wouldn't overreact. Even Lemmy, who was fairly new to the information, gazed at Bowser in a slight annoyance.

"We ran into the same guys who got in oureturn way when you sent Bowser Jr. to kidnap Peach days ago. Not only did the make off with her, but they also have a teleportation device," Ludwig said to the larger Koopa.

"Yeah. You were robbed three times," Lemmy said.

"Three times?" Bowser asked the orange-shelled Koopaling.

"Well, yeah. If we count that the guys stole Peach from you, too," Lemmy explained.

"Don't remind me!" Bowser yelled, pouting the floor with his massive fist.

"Master Bowser, calm down," Ludwig told Bowser. "Getting angry won't solve anything."

"Won't solve what?"

The three Koopas turned their heads to see Roy and Iggy approaching them.

"Hey, guys!" Iggy yelled loudly.

"What are you guys doing here?" Ludwig asked, completely ignoring Iggy.

"Well, that wasn't very nice," Iggy muttered to Roy. The older Koopaling snickered.

" _Answer_ the question. What are you guys doing here?" Ludwig repeated.

"I just thought you might need some help," Roy answered in an unconvincing tone.

"Help?" Ludwig asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Okay, okay. Iggy was able to track those Koopas when they showed up here," Roy said.

"How?" Ludwig asked.

"Well, it was simple. I just inputted the information you guys told me into a digital tracker on my computer. When they disappeared, I got a message saying they left the dimension," Iggy explained.

"The cowards! How dare they steal from me and run away! I'll make them pay!" Bowser yelled, clenching his fists in seething anger.

Bowser then proceeded to walk away, leaving the four oldest Koopalings alone in the dark room. As the heard his heavy footsteps get farther away, Ludwig grunted in frustration.

 _Why? Why did this have to happen this week? This is all so complicated_ , he thought squeezing his eyes shut.

The four siblings heard the elevator open, and shut just seconds afterward. While the elevator transported Bowser farther away from the Koopalings, Ludwig then looked down at the stone floor in complete rage.

"Ludwig? Are you okay?" Lemmy questioned his only older sibling.

"Yes, Lemmy. I'm just thinking."

"I know you're overwhelmed, Ludwig, but it's not like we can go the enemies' base," Lemmy said to Ludwig.

"I'm not so sure about that. Maybe we can," Iggy happily said, refuting Lemmy's previous statement.

"What do you mean?" Ludwig asked, lifting his head.

"Well, if I has the proper materials, I could probably construct a portal to their dimension," Iggy said.

"Good work, Iggy! It's looks like I'll get to have a rematch," Roy said, flexing his muscles.

"Don't think like that, Roy. We're only in this mess because you were being a hot-head," Ludwig said.

"A hot-heat?!" Roy yelled at Ludwig, stomping towards his brother.

"Yes, a "hot-head". You didn't really concentrate on what the big picture at Peach's Castle was," Ludwig said.

"Well, I'm sorry, Ludwig," Roy said sarcastically.

"Of course you are. You couldn't be anything else," Ludwig replied coldly.

Veins began to appear on Roy's forehead. Iggy and Lemmy glanced at each other in fear.

"Um, that's enough, Ludwig," Lemmy said, nervously.

"Yeah. You should try to tone it down," Iggy agreed.

"Don't talk to me right now. I'm busy," Ludwig said, glaring at Roy.

"But-," Iggy started.

"I said I'm busy!"

"Don't yell at them like that!" Roy yelled, suddenly shoving Ludwig to the floor.

Dusting himself off, Ludwig stood up. "Please don't start this. You already know how this will end."

Roy then charged at Ludwig in fury. He jumped on him, and the two brothers fell on the ground. Roy repeatedly punched Ludwig in the face over and over, as the eldest Koopaling was pinned down by his younger brother's superior weight. Growling, Ludwig flipped Roy over and began pounding at his chest. He was then flung off.

"So that's how you wanna play," Roy said, walking slowly towards Roy with his fists swinging.

"Perhaps," Ludwig said.

With that, Roy once again charged at his brother, but this time threw a punch at him. Ludwig caught his fist and kicked him right in the stomach, causing the heavier Koopaling to kneel over in pain. The eldest Koopaling forcefully flipped Roy onto his shell, where he lay vulnerable. Due to his great weight, Roy was trapped. Chuckling triumphantly, Ludwig hopped onto his brother's plated stomach. He placed his right foot right on Roy's chest.

"I told you I would win," Ludwig said, mocking his younger brother.

"Come on, Ludwig. You didn't have to do that," Lemmy said to Ludwig.

"I'm with Lemmy. I know Roy was basically asking for it, but maybe you were a little too cocky," Iggy said, glaring at his oldest brother.

"When was I cocky?" Ludwig asked, facing the two other siblings with a mean look.

"Just now," Iggy said boldly.

"What do you have to say about it?"

"Well, I don't approve!" Iggy yelled at him.

"Yeah, me neither. What you did wasn't cool," Lemmy agreed, folding his arms.

"Well, if that's the case, may even I'll come after you guys," Ludwig replied, slowly stepping down from Roy's chest. He began to approach his little brothers without any signs of remorse for his actions. Had Ludwig gone made?

With Roy defeated, Iggy and Lemmy backed away from Ludwig as the blue-haired Koopaling stepped towards them.

Lemmy summoned a large supply of bombs, and tossed them all at Ludwig. Ludwig summoned another shield that protected him from the dangerous weapons. He then pushed Lemmy to the floor.

"Hey! What's wrong with you, Ludwig?" Iggy yelled, dashing towards him.

The eldest Koopaling then summoned a magical barrier that encompassed only himself and Lemmy. Iggy could only watch in fear as Ludwig slowly approached Lemmy with a sadistic look in his eyes. What had happened to Ludwig?

"Ludwig! What are you doing?!" Bowser cried, dashing into the room and knocking Ludwig several yards away with one swing.

Upon landing, Ludwig came to a clear understanding.

"Oh. Sorry everyone. I guess I went a little crazy there," Ludwig said, embarrassed.

"Yeah, you did," Roy muttered angrily.

Sighing happily, Ludwig flipped his brother off his shell. They then high-fived and made up. Lemmy and Iggy then revealed their plans to Bowser.

"Iggy discovered a way to track those thieves," Lemmy told Bowser.

"Be prepared, Master Bowser. We're going to an alternate dimension in a few days," Iggy said to the dumbfounded Bowser.


	8. Special Pick-up

"What did you say you needed?" Morton asked Iggy.

Ludwig, Lemmy, Roy, and Iggy had gone home around four o'clock that morning after finally leaving Bowser's Castle. After revealing their idea to Bowser, the siblings asked if he was up for the challenge. Eager to get revenge on the thieves, Bowser quickly said he and Bowser Jr. would be ready to depart in two days. Now, all Iggy needed were two materials necessary for the completion of his portal. Giving that Bowser now knew of the run-in with the seven figures from days before, Ludwig made the tough decision of telling Wendy, Morton, and Larry about their current situation.

"I said I needed tungsten and titatitanium," Iggy answered his younger brother. "Those items are absolutely required for the portal."

"You're sure you don't have any?" Morton questioned the second-tallest Koopaling.

"I'm fresh out of those things."

"Hmph. We're in trouble," Morton said to himself.

"Hey, guys. What are you talking about?" Wendy asked, coming down the stairs. She sat down beside Iggy and faced him. "You were talking about needing something, correct?"

"Yep. I need some tungsten and titanium," answered Iggy.

"Well, that's not good," Wendy replied, getting comfortable on the couch.

"Nope," Iggy sighed.

The three siblings sat in silence for several minutes. With the question of where they would get the required materials hanging over their heads, they came about with various scenarios of how to overcome the problem. It wasn't until Morton spoke that they decided on a game plan.

"Hey, guys. I have an idea," Morton exclaimed.

"Don't leave us hanging! Tell us!" Iggy responded.

"What if we go to E. Gadd and ask him? He's bound to have what you need," Morton said to Iggy.

"Yeah! Let's ask him," Wendy agreed, leaping from her position. "Iggy?"

"Well...it's a good idea and all, but we don't know where he is and I doubt he would be willing to help us," contradicted Iggy.

"Why don't you force him to help you if that's the case," Larry said, emerging from the basement.

"Larry! How long have you been down there," Wendy questioned her youngest brother.

"Let's just say I heard everything. Anyways, I know what to do in this situation," the youngest Koopaling replied, walking towards the door. He opened it.

"Where are you going?" Morton asked.

"Follow me. Just trust me," Larry answered leaving the house.

Iggy, Wendy, and Morton looked amongst each other. They then began to catch up to Larry and followed him.

An hour later, the four youngest Koopalings found themselves in the room of the Koopa prince. Larry had called Bowser Jr. ahead-of-time, so his friend wasn't surprised when he and his siblings came knocking on his bedroom door. After briefly greeting Bowser Jr., the four siblings decides to get to work.

"Hey, buddy. Could you help us with something?" Larry asked, sitting on the youngest Koopa's bed.

"Sure. What is it?" Bowser Jr. questioned, jumping on his bed.

"Tell him, Iggy," Larry told the lanky, green-haired Koopaling.

"Oh, well, Bowser Jr., the four of us were wondering if you could take us to Professor E. Gadd," Iggy explained, gesturing to his younger siblings.

"Yeah. Iggy needs tungsten and titatitanium for this portal to this alternate dimension," Wendy told the young Koopa.

"Alternate dimension?"

"Oh, your dead hasn't told you yet?" Iggy questioned Bowser Jr.

"About what?" Bowser Jr. asked.

"Well, you remember those guys you ran into at Peach's Castle, right?" Iggy began.

"Yeah..."

"Those guys were from an alternate dimension. Iggy requires those two necessities in order to build the portal," Morton finished.

"Why would you want to go there?"

"Well, not only did the kidnap Peach, but they also robbed your dad twice," Iggy answered.

"So basically, those guys were the robbers?! Man, no wonder my dad was so mad!" Bowser Jr. yelled, clenching his fists tightly.

"We didn't mean to get you into a paroxysm, but we need you to take us to his laboratory in Evershade Valley," Wendy said, putting her hands on her hips.

"Oh, I've hit that under control. In fact, let's go now," Bowser Jr. said, leaping off his bed. He stomped over to his door and opened it. He stood in the doorway and raised his arm into the air.

"All aboard the new and improved Flagship!" Bowser Jr. yelled.

"Alright!" Larry yelled, leaping onto Morton's shell.

Bowser Jr. dashed into the hallway and Morton followed him, with Larry catching a ride. Iggy and Wendy ran after them.

"This way!" cried Bowser Jr., dashing down the carpeted hallway.

"Whatever you say!" Larry yelled, struggling to maintain his balance.

Bowser Jr. then jumped ahead and pressed a button on the wall. A secret door appeared and the Koopalings followed him through the new opening. The Flagship sat on the ground, repaired and ready for action. Bowser Jr. hopped into it and called to his friends.

"Up here! What are you waiting on?" he called down to them.

Laughing in surprise, Morton and Larry jumped into the Flagship. They gazed briefly at their surroundings. The Flagship was now loaded with more artillery and defenses that would surely be useful for the next mission to destroy Mario. With the new ammunition, it seemed like they would be able to beat Mario when the time comes. However, the plumber was too clever, and always managed to defeat the tyrannical ruler and his minions.

Iggy and Wendy climbed aboard the transportation vehicle as well. Bowser Jr. stopped being impatient and stomped his foot. He then snapped his fingers.

Instantly, two Fire Bros. and a Sledge Bro. arrived to the main deck and bowed to the five Koopas.

"Master Bowser Jr., what is it that you seek?" asked the munificent Sledge Bro.

"Yes. Unload all your troubles on us," added one of the Fire Bros. with less enthusiasm.

"I don't like your tone. Anyway, go and pilot this airship. I'm gonna go take a nap!" Bowser Jr. ordered the minions.

"Yes, Bowser Jr.," said the Sledge Bro., who quickly turned around and began to follow Bowser Jr.'s wishes.

"It only takes one person to pilot and airship. That means we're free," the first Fire Bro. said, gesturing to his companion.

"Yeah!" exclaimed the other Fire Bro.

"Well, um...go and make sure he does his job right," Wendy commanded.

"You're kidding," muttered the first Fire Bro.

"Oh, you'll know when I'm kidding," Wendy responded, walking slowly towards the Fire Bros. They quickly ran away to perform their duty.

"Nice," Bowser Jr. said, high-fiving Wendy.

"I know," Wendy responded, smiling.

"Are we ready to go?" Iggy asked impatiently.

Immediately, the Flagship took off. Bowser Jr. pressed a button which generated an opening in the castle wall. The Flagship maneuvered through the hole, and soon was in the afternoon sky.

"I may be a liar, but I wasn't lying about that part. I'm going down to take a nap," Bowser Jr. said, leaving the deck.

This left the four siblings by themselves. To pass the time, they shared their opinions about their current situation. They even performed prank calls to their older siblings for fun. Within an hour, they had reached Evershade Valley.

Below, Iggy good see E. Gadd's laboratory. Smiling, he turned to his siblings. The three younger Koopalings had become bored on the Flagship, and we're excited to actually get back into action.

"We're here!" Iggy called.

Bowser Jr. emerged from below deck and faced the siblings. "Let's go! Standing still like this isn't going to help!"

With that, the young Koopa prince leaped to the grassy terrain below. His friends followed him. The five Koopas walked up to E. Gadd's laboratory, and Morton knocked on the door. They heard the shuffling of the nutty professor as he eased towards the door. All last, E. Gadd opened the door and saw people he never wished to meet. He instantly slammed the door and kept it shut by placing numerous objects so opening the door would be almost impossible.

"What do you want with me?" E. Gadd called, trembling on the other side of the door.

"Look, Professor E. Gadd. We just want to talk," Bowser Jr. said, trying to calm the scientist.

"That voice...Bowser Jr. You're the one who stole that magic paintbrush from me! I refuse to help you, or your friends!" E. Gadd yelled, folding his arms without a reason.

"Could you just here us out?" Bowser Jr. asked.

"Yeah. We were wondering if you could do us a favor," Larry explained to E. Gadd.

"What favor?" E. Gadd questioned, becoming interested.

"Do you have any tungsten or titatitanium?" Iggy asked in desperation.

"Well, yes. In fact, I have both. What are they for?"

"It's a long story. We wouldn't want to bore you with it," Iggy said, trying to get the mission over with.

"No, that's okay. I _insist_ ," E. Gadd said in a tone of voice that made all five Koopas sigh in frustration.

"Okay then, do you want to tell him, Iggy?" Larry asked his older brother.

"Yeah, I'll do it," Iggy said, clearing his throat. "You see, E. Gadd, Princess Peach recently went missing. I know you think we did this, but we're innocent this time. I'm sure you believe in the Multiverse Theory, but a group of seven siblings intruded into our world, took Peach, and left. Also, they robbed Bowser twice."

"I do believe in Multiverse Theory, and your story is really complex. So what do you need tungsten and titatitanium for? You never explained," E. Gadd told Iggy in an annoyed tone.

"I was just getting to that! I was going to build a portal so we could retrieve Peach from their dimension. I need those two elements in order to make a proper portal," Iggy explained.

"How would I know if you're telling the truth or not?" E. Gadd responded.

"Come on, E. Gadd. Do you really think the five of us would want to come here and talk to _you_ in our freetime?" Wendy asked the professor.

"Okay, okay, I believe you," E. Gadd sighed. "Tungsten and titanium, coming up!"

Iggy, Wendy, Morton, Larry, and Bowser Jr. listened to E. Gadd's light footsteps as the nutty professor went throughout the perimeter of his lab for the needed elements. As they waited, they looked amongst each other. They had actually managed to acquire the materials required for the portal. Once he received the tungsten and the titatitanium, Iggy would be able to construct a portal so they could retrieve Peach. At last, the door to the professor's laboratory opened, and E. Gadd came outside, holding two cases. He handed one case to Larry, and the other to Morton.

"I put each element in its own case. I labeled them, although I'm sure you would have been able to distinguish one from the other, Iggy. Good luck with rescuing Peach," E. Gadd said before shutting the door, and continuing with his work.

Bowser Jr. grinned and held out his hand for a high-five. The five Koopas celebrated for their obtaining of the needed elements.

The five young Koopas, boarded onto the Flagship once again, and took off with the goal to reach Bowser's Castle. They headed downward from the deck, and gathered in a small room within the airship.

"This is terrific! We're actually on the path to rescue Peach!" Bowser Jr. exclaimed pointing at the case labeled "Titanium".

"Don't say "rescue"," Wendy moaned in disgust. "Hearing that makes it seem like we're the good guys."

"Yeah. The slogan of the Koopalings is supposed to be "We just love being mean!"," Morton agreed.

"Stop getting disgusted! Let's just get back so we can rest up for the day ahead," Iggy told them.

With that, they arrived at Bowser's Castle shortly after fighting over Iggy's statement. After telling Bowser of their success, Iggy, Wendy, Morton, and Larry went home, where they told the older three Koopalings about their day.

"That's great! Good job, guys!" Lemmy had cried, shortly after Iggy went into the basement to construct the portal.

"Yep. Good job, indeed," Ludwig agreed.


	9. Beginning of the Quest

"How much longer will it be before you finish, Iggy?" Larry asked his older brother as he sat down, watching him work on the portal in the basement.

"It shouldn't be too much longer, Larry," Iggy answered. "Hey, bro, can you pass me that wrench?"

Larry looked to his right and saw a large, rusty wrench lying beside him. He picked it up and tossed it to Iggy. The taller Koopaling swiftly caught it in one hand, and continued to construct the portal.

"Thanks, Larry. So, how are you feeling?" Iggy asked his youngest brother, beginning to tighten some screws.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean are you excited or anything?" Iggy responded.

"Well, sure, I guess. The idea of another dimension sounds pretty cool," Larry said, proceeding to lie down. "Are you sure all your calculations were correct?"

"I'm pretty certain. My research all ends up being positive," Iggy said.

"Good. I wouldn't want anything bad to happen around here," Larry said, yawning.

"Hey, guys. I brought some sandwiches. Let's talk!"

Iggy and Larry turned around to see Morton enter the basement, holding a tray of sandwiches. All the sandwiches were comprised of cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, mayonnaise, and ham, so the brothers weren't going to turn down the offer of free food.

"Thanks, Morton," Larry said, grabbing a sandwich.

"Yeah. Thank you," Iggy said, taking a sandwich as well.

"No problem, guys," Morton said, sitting down. "So, how are you doing? Are you making progress?"

"Yeah. In fact, I'm almost finished," Iggy told his younger, but larger, brother.

"Iggy says all his calculations added up, so there won't be any mechanical mishaps," Larry said, gesturing to Iggy.

"That's nice," Morton said, biting into his sandwich.

"Woah! Are those sandwiches I smell?" Roy happily asked, running down the stairs. He took a sandwich from the tray and went to lie on the long, wooden bench along the wall.

"Hey, Roy. How have you been?" Iggy asked, continuing to work on the portal.

"I've been fine. I'm happy to go to this alternate dimension I've been hearing about," Roy said, taking a large bite of his sandwich.

"Me too! This gonna be fun!" Larry yelled, punching his fists into the air.

"Roy? How exactly has Ludwig been after the fight you guys had?" Morton questioned, facing the oldest Koopaling in the room.

"Ludwig? He's been pretty chill since we fought. I think I may have touched a nerve when I charged at him," Roy explained in remorse.

"He angered you, though," Iggy said, stopping to contribute to the conversation.

"I know, but it's never really Ludwig's fault when something goes wrong," Roy said.

"I know. It's weird, right?"

Lemmy came dashing down the stairs, but tripped. He plummeted down to the basement floor. In a daze, he lifted his head And began to lift himself off the ground, but Wendy jumped on him. She stood up on his shell, and jumped up. She landed back on his back, and caused Lemmy to yell in pain due to his little sister's superior weight.

"Come on, Lemmy. You know I'm not _that_ heavy. However, this is what you get when you change the channel when my favorite show comes on," Wendy said, ignoring Lemmy's cries of pain.

"Hey, Wendy. What's up?" Roy asked his only sister.

Wendy had been completely oblivious to her other brothers' presence in the basement. "Oh, nothing much. I was trying to enjoy a nice morning of T.V. when _someone_ changed the channel," she said, gesturing to Lemmy.

"Anyways, Iggy is almost finished. We're about to go and safe Peach," Larry said.

"We have to wait on Bowser and Bowser Jr., right?" Lemmy asked, gasping for breath. Wendy then leapt off of him, and sat down next to Roy on the bench.

"Yeah. They're supposed to meet us here in fifteen minutes," Iggy answered, checking the current time on his phone.

"Well, let's be prepared," Ludwig said to his siblings, walking down the stairs. He stood beside Iggy. He was about to say something, but Iggy suddenly yelled in excitement.

"It's complete! I did it!" Iggy yelled, jumping on his feet.

"Great job, Iggy. All we have to do now is wait," Wendy said, getting off the bench. "Let's go upstairs, guys! That way, we won't have to here any knocking."

Wendy began to head up the stairs, and her six brothers followed her. They sat in the living room and waited on the great Koopa tyrant and his son to arrive. They waiting for nine minutes, until Larry spotted the approaching Bowser. He dashed to the door, and opened it before the two could even reach it. Bowser and Bowser Jr. entered the Koopalings' house, perplexed.

"Is it ready, Iggy?" Bowser asked the second-tallest Koopaling.

"Yes, sir. We can go now," Iggy said to Bowser.

"Good! Let's go!" Bowser yelled, punching into the air. "Where did you put the portal?"

"It's in the basement," Iggy replied, pointing to the stairs.

Bowser then picked up his son. He then walked downward to the Koopalings' basement.

"So, this is it," Ludwig said, standing up from the couch.

"Yep," Larry said, turning off the T.V.

"I hope we're successful," Morton said, nervously.

"We'll be fine," Wendy assured him, standing beside Ludwig.

"Come on! We don't have all day!" Bowser yelled from the basement.

"Yeah! Hurry up!" Bowser Jr. shouted.

"Okay! Just wait for a few seconds!" Ludwig called down to the two.

"Sibling Squad?" Lemmy questioned, holding out his hand.

"Sibling Squad!" the other Koopalings yelled, placing their hands over Lemmy's.

The seven siblings thrn dashed downstairs to meet Bowser and Bowser Jr. The Koopa prince had become bored with waiting for the Koopalings to come. He had begun to tinker with the portal, much to Iggy's dismay.

"Hey, don't touch that! You might mess something up!" Iggy yelled to Bowser Jr.

"Well, maybe you and your siblings should have hurried up," the Koopa prince retorted.

"Look, guys. We're almost there. Let's not fight, and go get Peach," Ludwig said, breaking them up.

"About time," Bowser murmured, looking away and crossing his arms.

"So, then, who's going first?" Iggy questioned his companions.

"What do you mean who's going first?" Wendy asked.

"Yeah, Iggy. It's your portal. _You_ go," Larry agreed with his sister.

"I'm tired of your constant bickering! I don't want to here anymore arguing from you guys for the next two hours!" Bowser roared to the Koopalings. His tone of voice caused all seven Koopalings, and even Bowser Jr. to fear him at the moment. Iggy leapt through the portal, and evetyone else followed.

Bowser, Bowser Jr., and their current companions found themselves in a world fairly identical from their own. The grass here was green, luscious, and rich. Puffy, white clouds hovered in the skies. This dimension didn't seem to be that different from there dimension. Bowser was actually a little disappointed by the seemingly familiar surroundings. Stomping his foot on the ground, he gave out assignments.

"It's pretty obvious that we need to find the home of those criminals. I can't wait to pound them into the ground!" Bowser said, cracking his knuckles.

"We need to have an actual plan, instead of bursting in like wild animals," Ludwig said, contradicting the tyrant's statement.

"So you don't want to assist me?"

"I never said that, Lord Bowser. I'm just saying we good do this in less than a day if we have a plan," Ludwig explained nervously.

"Yeah, Lord Bowser. I'm sure the enemy has prepared for an attack," Roy agreed with Ludwig.

"Fine, whatever. We'll do things your way. Happy now?" Bowser questioned, beginning to walk away.

"Indeed," Ludwig said in satisfaction.

Little did they know, a pair of Koopa twins eavesdropped on their conversation. These twins hid behind one of the many, thick bushes in the local area. The twins had seen three members of the invading crew. With Bowser and his minions leaving, they spoke amongst themselves.

"This is pretty neat, huh?" asked the younger twin.

"Yes it is. With this info, we could get a huge raise in our allowance," the older twin replied.

"Maybe we could afford a larger room, or an endless supply of toys," the younger twin added.

"You're right. Let's tell King Dad."


	10. Koopa Castle

At last, Bowser and his small crew arrived at the front doors of the siblings' home. They had been traveling for just under three hours now, and they were ready for some action. Getting closer to the castle by the minute, they spotted two strangely-colored Sledge Bros. guarding the front foors. Not intimidated by the overweight minions, Bowser marched straight to them.

"Hey! Let us in!" Bowser yelled, clenching his fists, trying to seem intimidating.

The two Sledge Bros. glanced at him for a second, observing him. They turned to each other and began chuckling loudly to themselves.

"Didn't you hear me? I said let us in!" Bowser repeated.

"Why should we? You're not from around here," the Sledge Bro. to the right said, revealing his mallet.

"Yeah," agreed the other minion. "Get out before we have to get rough with you."

Bowser glared at the two. He then charged forward and held the first Sledge Bro. up, without any visible effort. The other minions gasped in shock, and began dashing the the larger Koopa. Bowser Jr. caused a puddle of purple paint to appear on the ground. The heavy minion couldn't stop, and slipped over the paint. He crashed into the door, and became unconcious. Seeing this, the other Sledge Bro. began pleading for his life.

"Hey come on, man. I was just kidding," he said, nervously smiling at Bowser, who was far past the point of annoyance.

"Does it look like _I_ am? No, it doesn't. Let us inside the castle," Bowser demanded.

"I can't just let you in. I rank 2nd in position of King Koopa's Sledge Bro. troop," the minion told the powerful Koopa.

"King Koopa?" Larry asked.

"Hey! Tell us about this "King Koopa" you just talked about," Bowser said.

"If I do-."

"I won't pound you into the ground!" Bowser roared.

"Okay, fine. King Koopa is the owner of this castle. He is a powerful king with dark green skin, and crocodilian-like snout, and yellow spikes on various areas on his body. He is a villain, and his main goal is to kidnap a fair maiden named Princess Toadstool," the Sledge Bro. explained, pointing to another castle that was off in the distance. This castle was in an area that looked friendlier. "Anyways, King Koopa's plans are always thwarted by a fat plumber called Mario. King Koopa has tried many schemes, but they all end up failing. He has even tried to get his seven children to accomplish things for him. In fact, one of his kids invented a machine that allowed them to go to another dimension to steal from its residents. Pretty neat, right?"

"We're the residents of that dimension. We came to both retrieve a princess, and to get my money back," Bowser said to the minion.

"So _you're_ the guy the kids stole from. No wonder you came here," the Sledge Bro. exclaimed.

" _Now_ you're getting it!" Larry yelled.

"Who are you?" the Sledge Bro. questioned Larry. "Are you his son?"

"Of course not! I'm Larry Koopa, the youngest of the seven Koopalings. _These_ guys are my siblings," he said, gesturing to Ludwig, Lemmy, Roy, Iggy, Wendy, and Morton.

"We're just here for extra support," Ludwig said, folding his arms.

"And _I_ just wanted to come along because the portal was my invention!" Iggy added.

"Yeah. These guys are just minions. _That's_ my son," Bowser explained, gesturing to Bowser Jr. "I am King Bowser Koopa."

"I'm in line for the throne when I become of age," Bowser Jr. said.

"Anyways, sorry for any unnecessary trouble," the Sledge Bro. apologized, opening the door.

The nine Koopas entered, shutting the door behind themselves. Getting back into action, Bowser faced his companions. Realizing that the two minions could have called for their boss, Bowser had settled on Ludwig's idea of forming a plan. Also, he had decided to play things safe.

"We're in. Let's just get Peach, and get out without any trouble," Bowser said.

"I don't know about that. The architecture this castle is pretty cool," Lemmy said, staring at the walls.

The stone walls of the castle were aligned with long, red carpets surrounded by hard, checkered patterns on the floor. There were several pieces of praised gems and minerals such as sapphires, rubies, gold, and diamonds. Wondering how someone could afford and maintain a luxurious home such as this one, the Koopas looked down the hallway. It seemed infinite, just like all the other long hallways and corridors of the extravagant castle. Every now and then, there was a gray, stone stature of a reptile wearing a crown. They were placed in various areas such as between on either side of hallway doors, and between staircases.

"King Koopa," Larry said.

"Yep. Be careful in this place," Bowser said. "King Koopa sound like a guy you wouldn't want to mess with. Let's just get what we came for, and get out of his hair."

"Or no hair...," Ludwig chuckled.

"Right," Bowser agreed, trying to suppress a smile.

Iggy suddenly pointed at a set of stairs leading to the floor above. "This castle may be large, but I think the best bet is to go up," he said, approaching the stairs.

"It's all we have to work with. We might as well try it," Wendy stated, beginning to follow her older brother up the staircase. "I'm not exactly excited about helping Peach, but you don't see me just standing there." The other seven Koopas began to walk up the staircase. At the top, however, they found a very sinister surprise.

When they reached the upper floor, and set of large, wooden doors opened. Gasping in surprise, they watched as Cheatsy and Kooky appeared in front of them.

"Well, I thought you'd _never_ show up," Kooky cackled.

"Me neither. It took you longer than expected," Cheatsy added. He slid down the banister, and his older brother followed. The stood with their backs to the Bowhere, Bowser Jr., and the Koopalings at the bottom of the staircase.

"It was _you_!" Bowser yelled, pointing down at the two siblings.

"It was also Bully," Cheatsy replied, smiling in arrogance.

"Who is Bully?" Bowser demanded, heading towards the siblings.

"Bully is our oldest brother. He's currently playing a game with our other older brother, and now I think it's time for you to play a game with _us_ ," Kooky explained. "Cheatsy."

As soon as Bowser reached the bottom of the stairs, the two brothers leapt high into the air. They landed on the chandelier. Kooky handed a switch to his little brother, and Cheatsy pressed a button. The floor disappeared beneath Bowser and his minions, and they fell into a series of underground caverns.

Kooky and Cheatsy listened and laughed as the nine Koopas fell deep underground. As soon as they were positive their enemies were gone, they contacted their dad via wand. Instantly, the image of the evil, reptilian tyrant appeared over the wand.

"King Dad, it worked. They're gone," Kooky said to his dad.

"Good work, my boys. How did it go?" King Koopa questioned them.

"It was _so_ epic! We just showed up and pushed the button. They went underground," Cheatsy said.

"Yeah! So what do we do next?" Kooky asked.

"You guys, don't do anything. Just get the twins ready, and they'll take care of it from there."


	11. Subterranean Sequence, Pt 1

"Where am I?" Bowser Jr. questioned, looking around.

He appeared to be deep underground. As he looked up, he couldn't see the castle, so he assumed he was pretty deep. The area he was in was a bland area, with small deposits of water, calcite, and copper. This didn't particularly interested the Koopa prince at the time, so he continued to look around.

The childish Koopa prince found a small flow of water heading to the northern direction. Sighing, he decided to walk along it. As he walked through the dark, damp cave, he wondered if he would ever reunite with his father and friends.

 _Those brothers Kooky and Cheatsy really got us. Now, I'm stuck with no idea of how to escape_ , he thought. _Perhaps we should have been more cautious._

Bowser Jr. then found a spot where several tiny flows of water all gathered into one larger flow. Glancing up each of the miniature flows of water, he wondered if maybe any of his companions were anywhere in the same cave system. The chances of that seemed small. However, the cave system seemed fairly large. It was more than capable of containing all nine Koopas throughout its massive coverage area. In the area, there were five small streams in all. Bowser Jr. decided to walk along the fourth one, so he did.

The fourth small flow was much similar to the first the Koopa prince had traveled along. This one, however, had one unique feature that separated it from the others. Various waves of slight heat were ubiquitous throughout it. Bowser Jr. could feel the heat radiating from the tiny body if water as he walked beside it. He stopped for a few minutes to dip his fingers and feet into the warm water. He was focusing intensely on this. As a result of that, he failed to notice the footsteps of an approaching figure.

Bowser Jr. jumped as soon as he felt two fingers gently graze his shoulders. He quickly turned around to see Larry staring at him with the look of a prankster on his face.

"Hah! I scared you!" Larry yelled triumphantly to the young Koopa prince.

"Wha-? No you didn't! You didn't scare me!" Bowser Jr. stumbled, nervously.

"Actually, he did," Ludwig replied, appearing from out of the shadows with a smirk on his face. "Good to see you again, _Junior_."

"Ludwig! Now isn't the time for that! The three of us need to work together to get out of here," Bowser Jr. told the oldest Koopaling.

"I know, I know. I was just being _friendly_ ," Ludwig replied, patting Bowser Jr. on the shoulder.

"Is that his idea of friendly?" Bowser Jr. whispered to Larry.

"Yeah, I'm afraid it is. You should just try to get on his good side. Do that, and he shouldn't be much of a problem," Larry said to the Koopa prince.

"Wait, why are we talking about this? We need to _move_ , now," Bowser Jr. assessed. "The sooner we get out of here, the soon we can reunite with Dad and get Peach."

"Don't forget about the others," Larry said in annoyance.

"I was just getting to that! Just follow me!"

With that, Bowser Jr., heir to the Koopa Throne, began to once again follow the flow of warm water throughout the cave system. As he walked away, Ludwig and Larry looked at each other in bewilderment. They both shrugged, and began to follow the Koopa prince.

As the three young Koopas walked, they came across many obstacles. There was an icy cavern they trekked through. The true path was underneath a thick sheet of ice, so Ludwig and Larry had to melt a hole in the ice with their ability to breathe fireballs, as Bowser Jr. was still working on controlling this ability.

There was a fiery pit beneath the icy cavern. Once again, the two Koopalings had to melt the ice so they could progress. Without any visible effort, the two siblings melted the ice above, which caused the recreated water to splash down to the pit below, and extinguish the flames.

They thought getting out would be easy. They were wrong. Bowser Jr., Ludwig, and Larry were now faced with their most difficult obstacle yet. Before them, laid a deep pit within the dark, treacherous cavern.

As Larry hurled a rock within the huge opening in the rock, the three Koopas listened as the stone skidded down the rocky walls. It was a while before the sound of the echoing noise faded out of their hearing range. Also, it wasn't very long before they came across a pitch-black color deep underground. It was so dark, the pit even surpassed Roy's magic wand in terms of darker hues. Now, as they peered down to the distant cave floor below, they wondered how this obstacle could be beaten.

"Okay guys, what do we have?" Bowser Jr. asked his friends.

"Well, I could probably flutter-jump across the chasm while carrying you across. Separately, of course," Ludwig said.

"Are you sure that would work?"

"Yeah, Ludwig. The two of us might be a little too heavy for you," Larry said to his oldest brother.

"Nonsense," Ludwig shrugged off the comment, crouching down. "Okay, Larry's first."

"Why? Why is _Larry_ first?" Bowser Jr. questioned, stomping his foot angrily. " _I'm_ the Koopa prince, so I matter more than the two of you combined!"

"See, that's _exactly_ why you're not going first. You're an annoying jerk who I constantly have to be around. Larry may be a little annoying, but he's my brother. Does that clear it up? Yes? Good. Let's go, Larry!" Ludwig proclaimed.

"Sorry, dude! Family first!" Larry cried apologetically. Bowser Jr. rolled his eyes. Larry then hopped onto Ludwig's back, and the older Koopaling took off.

The second Ludwig found himself in the air, he realized he had made a bad decision. Larry was actually a lot heavier than Ludwig had predicted. Now, with with both his weight _and_ his brother's weight, Ludwig found himself in a pickle. Bowser Jr. had noticed this immediately.

"What's wrong, Ludwig? Did you make a mistake?" Bowser Jr. called, mockingly.

Ludwig didn't answer, trying to save his breath so he wouldn't become too tired.

"Um, we're sinking," Larry nervously said to his older brother.

With one desperate flurry of kicks, and all the energy he had, Ludwig managed to get to the other side of the chasm with his brother. He dropped Larry immediately and crashed down to the rocky terrain of the subterranean complex. Grunting, he pulled himself up and leapt over to Bowser Jr. This was over thirty feet away, so the eldest Koopaling found himself completely drained.

"Get up," Bowser Jr. demanded Ludwig.

"I'm too tired," Ludwig replied, panting. He slowly stood up, and revealed his magic wand. He waved it. A dark blue, luminous array of light began to shine throughout the cave. Ludwig blasted Bowser Jr., and the Koopa prince was thrown across the chasm. He was sent spiraling towards Larry.

"Move!" Bowser Jr. yelled, after landing.

He pushed Larry to the side. In return, the youngest Koopaling tripped him, which caused Bowser Jr. to land on his stomach. Ludwig chose to land on the Koopa prince's back. As he stood on Bowser Jr.'s back, the Koopa prince moaned in pain, as Ludwig's weight was superior to his.

"You know...when you're with us, you have to play nice," Larry said. "In fact, you annoy me."

He looked at his older brother and nodded. Ludwig did so as well. Larry grabbed his left arm. Ludwig leapt off the Koopa prince and grabbed his right. Slowly, they began to walk towards the pit.

"1...2...3...," they said simultaneously.

"No, wait! I'm sorry! Please put me down!" Bowser Jr. cried.

Ludwig and Larry tossed him backwards. The Koopa prince landed on his stomach and groaned in pain. As the approached him, they heard a small whimper from Bowser Jr. Satisfied, they began to he'd for the exit. Bowser Jr. trailed behind with a slight precaution.


	12. Subterranean Sequence, Pt 2

Bowser growled as he stomped around in the underground cavern. He was completely lost. He had no ways to get in contact with any possible help. As he was very heavy, Bowser had not been able to escape from the hole that had caused him, and his minions to tumbled into the endless darkness that now contained them. Now, he was all alone in an underground cave, and had no idea of where to go or what to do. Frustrated by his current situation, he began to walk in a random direction. While doing so, he clenched his fists tightly.

 _When I get my hands on those brats, I swear I'll become their worst nightmare_ , he thought. _Ugh. First things first. I better get out of here so I can get my revenge. Plus, I have to find Junior and the Koopalings. I'm just frustrated. I, a well known and powerful tyrant, was bested by the likes of two bratty kids. I have to redeem myself in any way possible. I, Bowser Koopa, cannot be defeated by youth. I'll make them pay. I'll make them all pay._

A rock was accidentally kicked to the side by two unknown figures. This startled Bowser, and his thoughts were instantly interrupted by the foreign sound. He glanced in the direction of the skidding rock, and narrowed his eyes. Bowser raised his guard instinctively, and began getting closer to the figure. He then called out.

"Whoever you are, come out and face me! Stop hiding in the shadows!" roared the grand Koopa.

The demanding voice of Bowser caused the figures to become startled, so they revealed themselves. Walking out from the shadows came Roy and Wendy. The two siblings were holding their magic wands, and walked side-by-side, slowly approaching their boss. As they got closer, Bowser's expression clearly said he was relieved to see the two Koopalings safe and sound.

"Roy! Wendy!" Bowser yelled, as he stepped forward to chat with the two. "Where did you two come from? Also, where are we?"

"I'm not entirely sure, but I believe we're directly underneath King Koopa's castle. Once we find everyone else, we should be able to get back inside, and retrieve Peach," Roy told Bowser.

Yeah. So for now, we should regroup with the others. They're _bound_ to be around here somewhere," Wendy added, putting her wand away. "Roy, you light the way. Let's move!"

"One second," Bowser said, contradicting the female Koopaling. "If we're underneath Koopa Castle, we should be able to sink it. Right?"

"What do you mean?" Wendy questioned, alarmed.

"I mean what I said. Let's sink the castle, so we can break in and nab the princess! It's the easiest way!" Bowser explained to them.

"Well, I don't like the plan," Roy said to Bowser.

"Why not?" Bowser demanded, becoming angry.

"Well for one thing, if you sink Koopa Castle, you could be putting us, the others, _and_ the princess at risk. Believe me, Master Bowser, I'm all for cheating and playing dirty, but making the castle go under is a bad idea," Roy explained.

"Yeah, I'm with Roy. He may seem dumb, but he can be pretty bright. Also, what's to say King Koopa won't come to _our_ dimension once we ruin his castle?" Wendy asked.

Bowser suddenly got the chills. King Koopa seemed like a pretty evil guy. Bowser was nasty himself, but an alternate dimensional version of him and himself wouldn't mix. If King Koopa was to enter into the Mushroom Kingdom, he could cause destructive chaos around all the lands. Plus, if anyone was going to reign terror on the Mushroom Kingdom, Bowser wanted it to be himself.

"Alright. I'm with you. Let's go," he said, leading the two younger Koopas on a mini expedition to escape from their current, encompassing surroundings.

Behind his back, Roy and Wendy high-fived. They then continued to follow the reptilian tyrant, for they had something highly important to do.

Just minutes into the journey, the three ran into a little obstacle. There was a huge pile of heavy stones, that formed a dead end.

"Just great! It's time to look for a new trail," Bowser muttered, slamming his fists to the rocky cave floor. The sound of the great Koopa's large hands caused the rocks to slightly crumble, and a hole about the size of the round end of a magic wand appeared in the stone. Wendy leapt onto the pile of rocks, and peered at the hole.

"Hey, Roy! There's a hole in the rock now! I think you can widen it," Wendy called to her older brother.

Roy then jumped and landed next to Wendy. He raised his arm, and punched at the rock. Nothing. The two siblings looked at each other in confusion, but then tried something else.

"Master Bowser, do you think you could make _this_ crack larger?" Wendy questioned, pointing to the tiny slit in the stone.

"Sure," Bowser said, arrogantly. He approached the slit, and punched at it again. Once again, nothing happened.

The three Koopas jumped back from the pile of rocks to talk.

"I don't get it," Bowser stated. "The rock should have been shattered by my punch. Perhaps I held back too much."

"Or maybe it was something else," Wendy said,

"What do you mean?" Bowser asked the female Koopaling.

"Maybe it was this," Wendy answered, poking her finger into Bowser's plated stomach. "Maybe you could have laid off the doughnuts, eh, big guy?"

Bowser glared at her. "Wendy, what are you doing?" Roy asked nervously and softly.

Bowser then began chasing the two siblings. They ran away from the pile in fear. "Wendy, what _was_ that? Are you trying to get yourself killed?" Roy asked his sister while running.

"Of course not. I had an idea," she replied.

"Idea?"

"Yeah. Do you think you could flip Bowser onto his shell?" Wendy asked, thinking quickly.

"I can try," Roy said.

He came to a sudden halt, and Bowser couldn't slow down. He fell backwards, and landed on his shell. Due to his great weight, he was unable to get up. He became to vulnerable to whatever Wendy was planning. In one swift maneuver, Wendy leapt onto his chest. She sat down, and proceeded to slap him back and forth several times before speaking.

"Sorry about that. That was just to calm you down," Wendy said.

"Okay. You have been forgiven," came the reply of the large Koopa.

"Now, do you think you could ram into that rock and enlarge the slit?" Wendy asked. Bowser nodded. "Great!" Wendy exclaimed. "Roy!"

Roy began struggling with the task to flip Bowser back into his feet. He struggled with the task for several minutes, before finally accomplishing his goal. Bowser then got down on all fours, and spoke to the siblings.

"Hop on my back. I could use the extra pressure," he said to them.

Roy and Wendy jumped onto Bowser's back, with Roy in front, and Wendy holding onto him. Roy had to hold onto Bowser's scarlet hair in order to maintain his balance. The reptilian tyrant then proceeded to dash very quickly towards the pile of rocks. In less than a minute, he had broken through the rocks. The three Koopas had taken care of one of their one problem, and then began to head for a way to escape the deep cavern.


	13. Subterranean Sequence, Pt 3

Morton groaned as he pushed a massive boulder to the side as he slowly stood up to gaze around at his surroundings. The large hunk of earth had had him trapped, as Morton had finally come across a non-organic substance that had him pinned down. He remembered nothing of what had previously occurred before this incident, for he had been unconcious. All he remembered was falling through a cavern at a very high speed. Thinking harder, he now remembered passing Larry during the process of his forced descent. Morton then stood up, but tumbled back down to the rocky surface. Upon falling, he instantly remembered everything. "This is quite a pickle I'm in, huh?"

As he gazed to his right, and then to his left, Morton saw zero signs of life. Grunting, the largest Koopaling stood up and yawned. He was all alone in an underground cavern, but he wasn't the least bit concerned.

 _I'll be fine. I'm sure Larry will be alright, and I'm older than he is,_ Morton thought, satisfying his inner pride. _If the youngest Koopaling is fine, I'm sure the second-youngest will be fine too. Speaking of Larry, where is the little runt? Actually, where am I?_ Morton narrowed his eyes to try to increase his area of sight, but was unable to do so.

"Man, it's dark in here," Morton said out loud.

He then got an idea, and conjured his magic wand with a gesture of his right hand. He tossed the ruby-red magic wand between his hands several times before waving it into the air. Red, luminous illumination illuminated the entire area. Morton smirked triumphantly, due to having figured out a problem. He then stood straight up, and tried to peer further than he had seen before.

 _Nothing_ , Morton thought to himself, frustrated. _Oh well, if I need to find the others, standing around isn't going to do anything. Alright, it's time for a sibling rescue mission._ Morton then began to walk across the dry, rocky ground of the cave system. He proceeded to walk for several minutes in the complex system.

As he walked, he felt an eerie presence just circling around him. This slightly gave him the chills, but h3 continued to walk, for he had somewhere to be, and something to do. With his magic wand in his right hand, he shrugged off the unusual feeling. Morton then took a step that was slightly heavier than those before it. He felt something sort of rattle or shake beneath him, and the ground opened beneath his feet.

"Arrrghhh!" Morton yelled in surprise.

He fell at a pretty fast velocity, so he couldn't do anything to prevent his certain pain once he landed on whatever was underneath the rock beneath the main surface of the strange new dimension. Something slightly grazed his outstretched arms. Morton quickly darted his eyes in the direction of his arms and immediately recognized what had made that feeling. Morton's magic wand had quickly escaped the Koopaling's hand as the force of the process of falling from a stunning height acted on the two objects. The ruby-red magic wand gradually moved away from Morton's right hand. He reached out to grab it, but he failed to do so. The next thing he heard and felt was a giant _THUD!_ that literally knocked the wind out of him. He couldn't even yell, for he was in such pain. He suddenly saw a red glow that was getting closer. He looked up, and saw it rushing towards him. It hit him right in the head, and he was instantly out cold.

Morton awoke about fifteen minutes later, and found himself laying alongside a tiny stream that was glistening a rich, purple color due to the myriad of amethyst fragments in the water. The water was flowing north to south. Morton sat up, and rubbed his head. At the very center of his head, he felt a large bump. He touched it once, and a hundred volts of pain instantly scattered throughout his body. Morton jumped due to the intense pain, and accidentally fell backwards into the stream. Morton began to sink to the bottom, but he quickly reacted to the phenomenon of drowning by spreading out his limbs. He proceeded to gradually inch closer to the water's edge. This process took about a good two minutes, but by the time Morton reached the surface he was barely even exhausted. He leapt out of the water, and grabbed onto the patch of land separated the dryness of land from the wetness of water. As he attempted to pull himself back up, he felt something push him back into the water.

This time, he made short work of the task. He swam to the surface in less than fifteen seconds. Once he pulled himself onto the rocky ground surrounding the tiny body of water, he saw who had pushed him into the water. The person was a trickster, and was known for being very giddy and hyperactive. This person was a Koopa, just like Morton, but also happened to be related with Morton. This Koopa was just a little shorter than Morton. It was Iggy!

"Hey, Morton! It seems like we're trapped down here. Do you know how to get out?" Iggy asked, casually.

Morton then rushed towards his lighter older brother and yanked him into a crushing bear hug. Iggy was lifted off the ground against his wishes and began frantically commanding Morton to put him down. Morton did so, and Iggy stood before him with a frightened look in his eyes.

"You're so strong, I nearly saw my life flash before my eyes. Don't ever do that again," Iggy said, gasping for air.

"Oh, sorry about that. It's just great to see you. So, what's going on?" Morton asked his older brother.

Iggy then forced a smile onto his face. "Before I tell you, I have something to show you. Follow me!" Iggy yelled to Morton, beginning to walk away from the largest Koopaling.

Morton stood, dumbfounded for a second, before proceeding to follow Iggy. "So, Iggy? Where exactly _are_ we going?"

"Let's just say I found someone else that is dear to both of us," Iggy answered, not even turning around to look his brother in the face. "Look, Morton. The more questions you ask, the longer it's gonna take us to get to the location. Just trust me."

With that, Morton shut his lips. He followed Iggy further and further away from the spot where he had been unconscious. Iggy led him to an area that was even darker than the one Morton had descended from. Iggy conjured his own yellow-green magic wand and waved it around. A rich, bright light illuminated the area around them. Morton then conjured his wand and did the same, with the light radiated from his wand being the familiar shade of red from before. Morton then glanced at something beyond the luminous area created by the two of them. He thought he had seen a green light somewhere that was less than a mile away. To his fortune, Iggy had seen it as well.

"Hey, Morty. We saw that, right?" Iggy asked, already knowing the answer.

"You already know."

Suddenly, the green light began moving closer. As it approached the two brothers noticed that the illuminated area was in the shape of a circle. This was the same case for their magic wands. Nonetheless, Iggy and Morton bared their magic wands, in case they needed to blast something. The light drew even closer, and now they could see a small, short figure coming towards them. In the powerful light, they could see that the figure had a mohawk that was comprised of the colors of yellow, magenta, and blue. The mohawk was comprised of six tufts of hair that were colored in a pattern. The pattern was of the colors yellow, magenta, and blue, in that order. There were two tufts of each color, with the first tuft being yellow, and the last tuft being blue. The third tuft, like the last, was blue. Additionally, the figure had a yellow ponytail that hung from their head. It faded into a powerful shade of orange at the ending tip, but it was mostly yellow. It was Lemmy, the smallest, yet second-oldest, Koopaling.

"Hey, guys!" Lemmy yelled to them, with a happy expression on his face.

"Lemmy!" Iggy and Morton shouted simultaneously.

"I guess it's a good thing I'm heavy. Otherwise, I would have never found you guys," Morton exclaimed, walking closer to Lemmy.

"I guess so," Lemmy replied, hopping onto Morton's shell. "I haven't been down here for _too_ long. The only thing I've done so far was discover a weak spot on that wall over there." He pointed to a large mass of stone that was the eastern wall of the cavern.

"Well then, that's our way out. Morton," Iggy said, gesturing to the rock.

Morton revealed his giant magical mallet, and leapt over to the stone. He held it back. Then, he swung with all his might at the giant stone. It smashed into a small heap of stone and dust. Morton leapt back, brushing the dust out of his three, thin strands of hair. He then dashed beyond the stone, and found his way. Lemmy and Iggy followed him, for they were on an important mission.


	14. Harsh Feelings

"Are we there yet?" Wendy moaned as she trekked, with heavy footsteps, behind Bowser and Roy.

"It should only be a little while longer. Try not to pass out or anything like that," Bowser responded to the only female Koopaling. "Just try to keep up. If you're really struggling, just hop on my back."

"I think I'm good for now. I'm just a little tired of walking interminably in here. We haven't seen daylight in a few hours, and I'm starting to get frustrated," Wendy said to the Koopa King.

"You know, is it just me, or is that a blue light comings towards us?" Roy asked suddenly, pointing past where Bowser stood. There, approaching them at a very constant pace, was a dark-blue light that stood out in the eerie darkness of its surroundings. Another light, one of a lighter shade of blue, suddenly appeared. Due to its presence, Bowser, Roy, and Wendy could see the shapes of two figures moving at the same pace as the lights. These two figures were both shorter than Bowser and Wendy. The shorter figure was shorter than Wendy, while the taller figure barely surpassed her in height.

The two figures then pulled the lights to their faces. Ludwig and Larry jumped over to Bowser, Roy, and Wendy. "Was that a good entrance? Ludwig?" Larry asked, facing his oldest brother.

"It was pretty good," Ludwig answered, now facing Bowser. "Hello, Lord Bowser. I thought we would run into you down here, but I wasn't expecting you to have Roy and Wendy with you."

"They really found _me_. I was just minding my own business in this cavern, when these two step out of the shadows. They made me put my guard up!" Bowser glared at Roy. "I should probably make you two pay for shocking me like that."

"Come on, Master Bowser. It was just something minor," Wendy said, smiling gently.

 _Minor? Minor? Minor...?_ Bowser thought to himself. "Hold on, you two! Where's Junior?! I remember him falling near Ludwig when Kooky and Cheatsy broke the floor! Do you have any idea where he might be?"

Ludwig began to open his mouth, but he was interrupted. Bowser Jr. darted towards him, and shoved him out of the way. The Koopa prince then leapt onto his dad, and hugged him tightly. "Dad!" Bowser Jr. exclaimed happily, gazing up at his father's happy expression. After hugging to the point where his arms were slightly sore, Bowser Jr. let go of his father and faced him. "Where _were_ you? I was worried about you, Dad."

Bowser closed his eyes and smiled. "I wasn't that far. I just ran into Roy and Wendy while doing a little exploring," he responded. Bowser Jr. grinned at his father.

Ludwig then cleared his throat. "Excuse me, Lord Bowser. I believe we're still missing a third of our expedition squad. Lemmy, Iggy, and Morton are _still_ nowhere to be seen. If you and your son are done rejoicing over here, I say it's time for you to help us rescue our _siblings_ ," Ludwig stated boldly, gesturing to his younger siblings. "Master Bowser, I'll allow you to lead the way."

Bowser then began to walk past Ludwig, and into the darkness. Bowser Jr. and the four Koopalings present followed him silently. Instinctively, Ludwig, Roy, Wendy, and Larry used their magic wands to light up the way for their superiors. Ludwig then looked at Bowser Jr.'s backside and frowned. He then ended the light coming from his magic wand. He commanded his siblings to do the same. Ludwig made his siblings pause for about for five seconds before walking at a slower pace than the one presented by Bowser and Bowser Jr. The two superior Koopas took no notice of this, and continued to walk. "This irks me," Ludwig whispered back to Roy, Wendy, and Larry.

"What irks you?" Roy quietly questioned his brother.

"It's this!" Ludwig whispered aggressively, pointing to the two Koopas who were now even farther away from them than before. "They take too long, in my opinion, to get these kinds of things done. I wish we could just ditch them down here...especially that brat, Bowser Jr. We help Bowser with basically anything he wants to do. We've kidnapped people for him! We've stolen for him! We've even put our own lives on the line for him! We do _all_ this, and we don't even get a "thank you". We truly should ditch them and let them find their own way out."

The other three Koopalings said nothing. They just kept walking silently behind their oldest brother. It wasn't too long, however, until Ludwig spoke again. "I feel like we're just being used."

"If you feel like we should ditch them, I'm in." Ludwig, Roy, and Wendy swiftly turned around to see Larry glaring at Bowser and Bowser Jr., who were now far away from them to the point where they could not longer be seen. "They've practically already ditched us. Sure, we could catch up, but we don't see them checking to see if we're behind them." Larry then walked past Roy and Wendy, and stood right before Ludwig. He placed his hand on his oldest brother's shoulder. "At first, I thought you were just being a complaining pile of trash, but I'm with you now. Even if I wasn't, we're brothers. Let's ditch these fools!"

Ludwig and Larry then turned their backs to the backs of the Koopa King and the Koopa Prince. They began to march arrogantly in the other direction. They then stopped to question the remaining two Koopalings. They remained with their backs facing them, but still proceeded to ask a very important question. "Roy? Wendy? Are you guys in?" Larry asked, grinning mischievously. Ludwig folded his arms and held his head high, already knowing the answer.

"Definitely!" Roy exclaimed eagerly, cracking his knuckles.

"Count me in!" Wendy answered, beginning to walk towards Ludwig and Larry. "There's no way the two of us would have turned our backs on you in a situation like this! I guess even _I_ hold a little resentment for Bowser. All those lava pits...all those concussions...all that _pain_! We just have to make him pay!"

"I thought you'd say that. Alright then, let's run! We have some siblings to find!" Ludwig said, proceeding to bolt away from his younger siblings. Larry, Wendy, and Roy, in that order, dashed after Ludwig in the attempt to catch up with their brother.


	15. Six out of Seven

"Hey, Ludwig! Do you have any idea where we're going?" Roy asked Ludwig as they, along with Wendy and Larry, dashed madly through the dark cavern.

"Nope. Maybe I would if we had a little _light_ ," Ludwig responded in an annoyed tone. With his dark-blue hair being greatly affected by the force of motion, Ludwig proceeded to dash. "I told you guys to give us a little light, but did anyone listen? _No_."

"Well, it's kind of hard to wave a magic wand when you can barely feel your limbs!" Larry called to Ludwig. "What if Lemmy, Iggy, and Morton aren't even in the direction we're running?"

"If that happens to be the case, we'll waste a lot of of much-needed energy," Ludwig responded.

"Well you're very nonchalant about this, Ludwig. Our siblings' lives are pretty much at risk here!" Wendy yelled to Ludwig, worried.

"Why is everyone against me?!" Ludwig demanded, astonished. "I'm not the one who beats up people when provoked. By the way, this person is provoked _easily_."

"Leave Wendy out of this, Ludwig! This isn't the time to be pointing fingers at people!" Roy yelled from behind Wendy. "If we want to find the others, we'll have to work together!"

"Yeah, Ludwig," Wendy said, annoying Ludwig. "We have to work _together_ , Ludwig, like Roy said."

"Shut up, Wendy!" Ludwig growled fiercely. "I'm not deaf, you know."

"I was just saying, okay? Chill out, bro," Wendy replied defensively.

"Maybe this is why Bowser never puts us in the same place. We all fight too much," Larry said.

"Stay out of this, Larry!" Ludwig and Wendy yelled at the youngest Koopaling at the same time.

"It's kind of hard to do that when I'm _right in the middle_!" Larry shouted, glaring back at Wendy angrily. "Look. Why don't we all just calm down so we can focus on the task at hand? It hasn't been a full thirty minutes before we all rejoined forces, and we're _already_ fighting."

"Yeah, this isn't helping us one bit. How are we going to get out of here if we're all fighting like this?" Roy added.

"Can it, Roy G. Biv! This is our fight, not yours! I just have a little unfinished business with _Wendy_ here," Ludwig replied. "You too, Larry. Butt out!"

"I'm trying to help you guys! I never joined the argument in the _first_ place!" Roy exclaimed angrily.

"The same applies to me. I never joined," Larry said.

"Then shut up!" Wendy yelled flatly.

"You know what? I'm sick of this! We need to stop fighting, and now!" Roy shouted.

"What are you going to do then?" Wendy sneered at her older brother.

Roy had had enough. Growling, he sped up and pushed Wendy with a very strong shove. This push sent Wendy flying. She flew into Larry, who in turn was thrown into Ludwig. Ludwig tried to maintain his balance, but that proved to be a difficult task. Ludwig was thrown off his feet when Larry tried to grab into him in order to maintain his own balance. Ludwig then proceeded to bounce and roll several yards from where he was pushed. At this moment, the four siblings were heading towards a stone wall. Roy was the only Koopaling to see this. He used his magic wand to blast a hole in the wall. Ludwig tumbled into the hole, and soon found himself surrounded by even more darkness.

Roy, Wendy, and Larry waited for their oldest brother to return, but this did not happen. Larry walked up to the hole and stared at it. It was fairly large, too small for Bowser, but the perfect size for everyone else. Larry put his head through the opening, and was shocked when he couldn't see anything. "Hey! Ludwig!" Larry yelled into the creepy darkness. No response.

"This is just great, isn't it? Thanks a lot, Roy," Wendy said, punching Roy in the shoulder.

"Yeah, Wendy's right! This is all your fault, Roy!" Larry yelled to Roy. "Now, we don't know where we are. Plus, Ludwig, our _leader_ , is missing. We have no ways of finding him, and we're all alone. There may be three of us, but I doubt we could survive! In fact, we'd probably just end up killing each other!" Larry then leapt on Roy, who shook him off. Larry then calmed down and spoke again.

"The leader's gone, so what are we gonna do _now_?" Larry asked Roy. Wendy then turned and faced Roy. She gave him the thumbs-down sign.

"I'm not sure if Ludwig is necessarily the leader," said a familiar voice. Roy, Wendy, and Larry immediately turned to face the new voice. Even in the very dim light of the cave, they could see the silhouettes of three shelled figures standing on a large pile of boulders and dust. Roy and Wendy both tapped Larry, who acted accordingly. Larry waved his magic wand, illuminating the area with a rich, sky blue hue. There, standing on the rocks, were Lemmy, Iggy, and Morton. "Alright, let's get this party _started_!" said the voice, now identified as Lemmy.

"Lemmy! Iggy! Morton!" Roy exclaimed, surprised. "Well, I can't say I'm absolutely shocked. I thought the voice sounded familiar, and it was. So, what's going on with you guys?"

"What's going on with us doesn't matter. We have to go and find Ludwig!" Lemmy said, leaping down from the rock to stand in front of his younger, yet larger, siblings.

"Yeah!" Iggy yelled, leaping to land next to Larry. "Speaking of "go find", where exactly are Master Bowser and Bowser Jr.? The last time I checked, Master Bowser had tried to climb out of the hole, but failed. _Also_ , I remember Bowser Jr. being knocked unconscious by a rather large rock. Anyway, what's going on with that? Did you guys split up or something?"

"Actually, Iggy, we began to think of all we've risked for Bowser over the years, and we walked away," Larry replied to Iggy. "Ludwig was with us, as you probably don't know, but we've been separated from him."

"Really?" Morton questioned, obviously amused.

"Yep," Larry replied, folding his arms. "In fact, I don't even know if they noticed when we left. They seemed pretty focused on getting out of here."

"So _there_. That's our reason for leaving. Are you guys against us or with us? Either way, it's your call," Wendy said. "There are three of us, and three of you. It's split right down the middle."

"Obviously, I'm with you guys. We're siblings, after all," Lemmy replied, patting Wendy's shoulder. "I'm pretty certain I know how Iggy and Morton feel as well."

"You do," Morton said, grinning. "There's no way we would just sit here and let you guys go off to start your own separate faction. What about you, Iggy? Are you in as well?" Lemmy, Roy, Wendy, Morton, and Larry then turned to smile at Iggy with a mischievous look in their eyes. Iggy smiled mischievously before replying.

"Yep."

"In that case, this way!" Roy yelled, stepping into the opening in the rock. "Ludwig came through here. Even if we wander around here blindly, literally, we're bound to find Ludwig. Alright guys, follow me!" With that, the other five Koopalings followed Roy through the tunnel which had previously been passed through by the eldest Koopaling, the pompous Ludwig.


	16. Juvenile Treachery

"This way, guys," Roy called to his siblings as the six of them walked in the attempt to find their older brother. It had been several hours since the clan of siblings had decided to betray Bowser and leave him alone in this deep, complex system of caves. Upset by the fact that Bowser had never done anything for them besides supply them with castles and airships to fight Mario in, Ludwig, Roy, Wendy, and Larry had decided to just leave, which in the process caused Bowser to have to rescue Peach alone, for the most part, at least. Currently, Bowser's only companion was Bowser Jr., his only son. After leaving, the four siblings faced a slight mishap when Ludwig became lost in the eternal darkness of the cave system. Roy, Wendy, and Larry fortunately found Lemmy, Iggy, and Morton, who joined their siblings after listening to their current situation.

As the six siblings continued to venture on in the subterranean system, they all used their magic wands to brighten the area so they could see. With each magic wand giving off its own personal glow, they laid in the hands of the six Koopa children as still as sticks, only occasionally moving along with the constant motion of the Koopalings. They had a rescue mission of their own. They had to try to find their older brother, with only a tiny suspicion of where he might be. Lemmy, Roy, Iggy, Wendy, Morton, and Larry had stepped through an opening in a wall of rocks, for they were certain Ludwig had recently passed through this place.

"I'm following you, but I still don't see why I shouldn't be leading," Lemmy said to his younger, but much larger, brother. "I _am_ the oldest...after Ludwig, that is."

"Maybe so, but I'm the oldest of the ones who actually witnessed Ludwig becoming missing," Roy replied without even looking back to face his brother. "Besides, it would look funny if the smallest of us was the one leading."

"Yeah, yeah," Lemmy said, shrugging off the insult.

"Let's not argue at a time like this, guys! We have to go find Ludwig!" Larry yelled to his older brothers. "I've got some places to be once we get back to _our_ Mushroom Kingdom, and I can't spend all my important time looking for my oldest brother! You know, I'm kind of on a time limit here. Let's hurry up and find him so we can get back home and do whatever we want!"

"Okay, Larry. _Whatever_ you want," Roy replied, continuing to take the lead. "It's not your time I'm concerned with. I _only_ care about my personal time...plus all of my siblings." Wendy then punched him in the stomach, and Roy bent over in pain.

"I caught that! Don't try to slip something in there after messing up!" Wendy yelled at Roy, who by now was lying flat on his stomach. Wendy then tapped Roy with one of her shoes, but the larger Koopaling didn't respond. Wendy then tapped him again. The outcome was the same. "Do you hear me?! I'm talking to you, Roy!" Wendy yelled angrily at her older brother.

" _I_ didn't hear anything," Iggy giggled, showing his sadistic nature. "You should give Roy the ol' what for, little sis."

With that, Wendy leapt onto Roy's back. "I'll give you _one_ last chance, Big Bro. You only get a single chance to finally answer me. Understand?" Wendy asked, standing on top of her older brother's large shell. She waited several minutes, but Roy didn't respond. Wendy then proceeded to raise her left leg in the attempt to stomp on Roy's head, but she was interrupted.

Morton suddenly stepped forward, and pushed his older sister off Roy's shell. Wendy landed on the dirty ground, and then proceeded to brush herself off. Lemmy and Larry helped her to her feet, while Iggy stared nervously at her. Wendy glared at him, then turned her head to frown in an annoyed at way at Morton. The largest Koopaling then ignored her, and patted his older brother on the arm. Roy eventually got up, and faced Morton.

"I was fine, you know," Roy said, folding his arms.

Morton then looked at him with an annoyed expression. He then frowned at his older brother before speaking. "Um, no you weren't. Wendy was about to stomp you into the ground, and you didn't do anything."

Roy laughed at Morton's reply. "As if! I let Wendy do that!" Roy yelled to Morton. "It was part of my act. Wendy has problems controlling her anger, so I let her beat me up."

"I _believe_ you were unconscious," Morton said. "Wendy kept telling you to answer her, but she didn't get anything back. That doesn't sound like you let her beat you up."

"Same here," Larry added, eyeing Roy curiously.

"Shut up, both of you!" Roy yelled, shoving both Morton and Larry. The youngest two Koopalings recovered quickly. They then glared at Roy, who stood with his back to Lemmy, Iggy, and Wendy. Lemmy, Iggy, and Wendy backed up from the argument, for things were about to get rough. Larry ran towards Roy, and punched at him. " _Really_ , Larry?" Roy asked mockingly as he caught his youngest brother's fist and sent him to the dirt. Larry began to rise from his current state of defeat, but Morton told him he would handle this.

Morton began to take a few steps towards Roy, who grinned as his younger brother slowly approached him. Suddenly, Morton sprung at Roy. He landed a punch on his older brother that sent Roy to a kneeling position. Roy swiftly hopped up, and pushed Morton back about five feet. He then charged towards Morton, but the latter caught him. Roy began trying to force his younger brother back, but Morton began to prevent this, as he stood like a statue while using a great deal of his strength to withstand Roy's great strength. As soon as Morton thought he had succeeded, he found himself being lifted into the air. "Put me down!" Morton spoke sharply to Roy as he began punching at him. Eventually, Roy had to drop Morton, who took advantage of the situation by jumping on his older brother. The heavier of the two was Morton, so Roy found himself being weighed down. Morton laughed as his brother began to loose, but was thrown onto his shell. As Morton was large, he could not manage to get back onto his feet.

"And that's how the cookie crumbles," Roy said, placing his foot on Morton's chest. Larry then managed to get Roy to go away so he could help Morton up. Upon getting up, Morton continued to have hostility towards Roy.

"Don't blame me. You shouldn't have been "Mr. Tough Guy"." Roy then turned away from Morton, and proceeded to walk towards the assumed location of Ludwig. Larry then followed him, although he was still a little ticked off by his older brother. Lemmy hopped onto Morton's shell, and Morton began to follow Roy and Larry.

"That was pointless," Iggy said to Wendy.

"Yep," Wendy replied.

Iggy then stood up, and was about to begin the task of trekking through the cavern when Wendy tapped his leg. Iggy turned around to face his little sister. "Hey, Iggy? My legs sort of hurt from walking. Do you think you could give me a piggyback ride?"

"Well...," Iggy began.

"Why not? You give Lemmy piggyback rides and he's older than both of us. He may be the smallest, but he's still the second-oldest! Can you do me this favor just once?" Wendy asked Iggy. Iggy nodded, defeated. Wendy hopped onto his back, and Iggy began to carry her as he walked in the attempt to catch up with the others.

After about an hour of walking, the group of siblings came across something that gave off a slight body heat. Roy felt heat radiating from this certain object, and told his siblings about his discovery. Larry dashed beside Roy, and began to cautiously feel the object. Surprisingly, he felt a large mass of hair in his palm as he felt the figure. Larry used his magic wand to see what the thing was, although he was already sure what it was. Larry saw the face of his unconscious, oldest brother and smiled. He then faced Roy, who was also grinning.

"Guys! It's Ludwig!" Larry waved to his older siblings.

Immediately, Lemmy, Iggy, Wendy, and Morton rushed over to where they were. They gasped upon seeing their older brother. "Well don't just stand there! Wake him up!" Iggy yelled to Larry.

"Will do!" Larry exclaimed happily as he began tapping Ludwig's chest over and over again. Each time, he pressed harder so he could get Ludwig to become conscious faster. Soon, Larry recalled that Ludwig was an expert when it came to sleeping. "He's not waking up. I think we need a little extra _force_."

At that moment, Roy stepped forward. He then pressed against Ludwig's stomach with a lot of force, and the eldest Koopaling soon came to.

"Huh? Where am I?" Ludwig asked, gazing around in a tired manber. Upon seeing his younger siblings, he instantly addressed them. "Oh. We're still underground, aren't we?"

"You already know," Iggy said to Ludwig. Ludwig then immediately hopped to his feet and began to head in the direction of Iggy. Once he reached his younger brother, he offered a fist bump to him. Iggy took the fist bump with an amused expression on his face, and hugged Ludwig once the fist bump was over.

 _I thought you knew there was a reason a offered a fist bump, Iggy_ , Ludwig thought as he walked away to offer the same action to both Lemmy and Morton. Lemmy instantly hopped down from Morton's shell to greet his only older sibling. They fist bumped, and Ludwig moved on to Morton. Ludwig became astonished after seeing a few scars on Morton's skin, but Morton explained, as he somewhat knew Ludwig's curiosity would cause him to question them.

"I just got into a little fight with Roy," Morton said to Ludwig. "Wendy and Larry were involved too, but to a lesser extent."

"That seems about right." Ludwig then turned his back to him, and began to walk towards Roy. Upon reaching his younger brother, he placed both hands on Roy's shoulders, and stared at him sternly. "Roy? Have you guys discovered anything involving Bowser and Bowser Jr.? By that, I mean have they found their way out of here, or are they still searching for their own exit?"

Roy then frowned at Ludwig. "I thought we betrayed him. Doesn't that mean we shouldn't care about Bowser anymore? Come on, Ludwig! You gave this entire dramatic speech!"

"We _have_ betrayed him. I only asked the question to see if we could do anything down here without possibly running into them," Ludwig explained.

"In that case, I'm pretty sure we're in the clear," Larry said to Ludwig. "As far as I'm concerned, Bowser and Bowser Jr. might have abandoned us, and left us in this crazy dimension!"

Upon realizing this, all seven of the Koopalings gasped. They began to bolt madly towards wherever they believed the fastest possible route to the surface was. Wendy had even jumped off Iggy's back, for she didn't want to risk anything getting in the way. All seven Koopalings illuminated the area with their respective magic wands, and used the bright, useful light to see where they were going. Ludwig took the lead as the clan of seven siblings dashed in the underground complex, with a hint of fear on their minds. Ludwig was followed by, in this order, Lemmy, Roy, Iggy, Wendy, Morton, and Larry. They were picking up so much speed, that they barely noticed the magic blasts that nearly sent them all to the hospital. All at once, the Koopalings leapt out of the way as a large, powerful blast of magic nearly collided with all of them.

As it cooled on the ground, the Koopalings looked ahead to see who their assailant was. There, standing ahead of them with large, mischievous grins on their childish faces, stood a pair of Koopa twins. In their hands laid magic wands that looked vastly different from those of the Koopalings of the Mushroom Kingdom. The twins' magic wands looked very powerful. They were, as they were capable of firing magic blasts that had nearly caused all seven of the Koopalings to face a Game Over.

"Hey! That attack almost nailed us, you coward!" Larry shouted, waving his fist at the twins, who stood laughing at the youngest Koopaling's statement.

"It almost hit you? Aw man...that means we have to try a little harder if we want to get rid of these guys, Hip," the larger twin said to his brother. The Koopa who spoke was wearing a pair of glasses that were very similar to the pair Iggy was wearing. This Koopa had hair that was somewhat like Lemmy's, but this Koopa's hair didn't have a pattern to it, and their hair was only in four, loosely-connected strands. Also like them, the Koopa wore a pair of spikeless cuffs that were mostly similar to the male Koopalings, for Wendy wore a pair of gold bracelets on her arms. The larger twin had a large, oval-shaped head that was green, and a green shell. The shade of green on the Koopa's shell was darker than the one Iggy's shell.

The younger twin looked very identical to his older brother, but there were some key differences between them. For one thing, the younger Koopa twin wore no glasses, and was vastly smaller than his older brother. Also, his hair was even thinner than the older twin's hair. He had a green shell just like his older twin, however.

These Koopa twins stared at the Koopalings, who stared back with serious looks in their eyes. With their powerful wands and overall unknown behavior, what else did these Koopas hide behind their juvenile, childish cover?


	17. Treachery in its Most Unpredictable Form

"Hip, are you ready to rumble?" the larger Koopa twin asked his younger brother. He then proceeded to get in a pouncing position as his brother game him a thumbs-up.

"Yeah, Hop! I was _born_ ready!" Hip responded, getting in the same position. Hip then pointed a clawed finger at the Koopalings, and grinned mischievously at them. "I hope you guys are ready. One way or another, you guys are going down!"

Ludwig frowned, and cleared his throat. "I recall seeing you two. You guys are among that group that came to _our_ Mushroom Kingdom to retrieve _our_ dimension's Peach. You two didn't really participate in doing anything besides watching. I wonder why. Perhaps you twins aren't as strong as your older siblings," Ludwig stated, frowning at the twins. He then took a step towards him, and his siblings got into their positions for battle.

"Yeah. You're _exactly_ right," Hop answered, grinning at the seven siblings. "The only danger we pose stems from our magic wands." With that, Hop waved his magic wand menacingly as his younger brother.

"We may not seem like much, but don't get overconfident and underestimate us," Hip said boldly. "On second thought, _do_ do that. That way, we'll have a much easier time dragging you all back to our Dad's castle for interrogation."

Wendy took a slight step forward, and firmly placed her hand on Ludwig's shoulder. "Ludwig, what are we gonna do? What's the game plan?" Wendy whispered to Ludwig.

"Well...they seem pretty easy to beat. Just remember to look out for their magic wands. Also, like they said, don't underestimate them. For all we know, we might find ourselves in great danger later," Ludwig quietly replied to his sister. "Guys, if there's one thing that's key to our battles, it's this: As the oldest, I always make the first move. Teamwork is necessary, guys."

"Can do," Morton whispered aggressively.

"Will do," Iggy exclaimed to Ludwig.

Then, the atmosphere began incredibly serious. The two Koopalings twins stared carefully at their opponents. Right when they were about to make their first move, Ludwig began to walk towards them. He stared up at them in a calm manner. As soon as Hop began to point his magic wand at him, Ludwig suddenly bolted. Hop hurriedly fired a dangerous blast at the eldest Koopaling, but the latter jumped right over it. Ludwig sped up, and began to slow down, while increasing the friction beneath his feet in the process. He also managed to kick up dust, which somehow made its way past Hop's glasses. Hop rubbed his eyes, but Ludwig took this moment to kick Hop's magic wand out of his hand. The magic wand twirled forcibly in the air until succumbing to the laws of gravity and hitting Hop on the head. "Ow!" Hop exclaimed, rubbing his head. Taking advantage of the situation yet again, Ludwig picked him up, and threw him several feet away from where his brother stood. Ludwig then leapt after him.

"Hop!" Hip cried, attempting to run over to help his brother. A spiraling rock sent him tumbling down to the dusty cave floor, on which he brought up dust from beneath him. Hip turned around to see who threw the rock, and saw Larry, who was smiling at him. "Why you little...ARGH!" Hip shouted as he lunged at Larry. Another person's interference sent him back to the floor. Hip stood up to see Roy standing beside his little brother, chuckling.

"I bet you didn't see _that one_ coming!" Roy laughed. Larry laughed with his brother, and they laughed even harder upon seeing someone approaching Hip from behind.

"You two like playing dirty, huh?" Hip exclaimed angrily, glaring at the two siblings. He began even angrier upon noticing that they continued to laugh. Sets of veins began to make their way to his forehead as they pointed at him because he was oblivious to what was about to happen. "What's so funny, you punks?" Hip demanded. Larry then pointed at something that was just slightly behind Hip.

The youngest child of King Koopa turned around to see Wendy standing right behind him. She just grinned casually at him as he stared at her with his mouth agape, terrified. Hip suddenly leapt away from her, but Wendy was too fast. Instantly, Wendy summoned a golden ring. She sent it towards Hip, who was instantly knocked back down to the ground. He landed beside Morton, who kicked Hip back over to where Roy, Wendy, and Larry were.

"Do you guys want us to just stay out or something?" Morton asked, gesturing to Lemmy, Iggy, and himself. "I know you guys don't need any help, but what you're doing looks fun."

"Feel free to jump in at any time," Roy said to them.

Lemmy, Iggy, and Morton then entered the already-unfair fight against Hip and Hop. Lemmy jumped high into the air, and shook his magic wand. He pointed it downward, and a tower of yellow circus balls with, with orange stars, instantly formed beneath the Koopaling. He then fired a circus ball from him magic wand, and it went flying into Hop, who was still having a difficult time with Ludwig. Hop was knocked server all feet backwards. Ludwig waved to Lemmy, requesting for the latter to come and assist him in his fight, although he didn't currently need the help.

Iggy joined Roy, Wendy, and Larry in their fight against Hip. He began to spin for several seconds before moving quickly to the point where his appearance became a blur. _It's been a while since I've tried this_ , Iggy thought, still spinning. He spun into Hip, who was thrown up into the air. Iggy stopped spinning, and got in his shell. In the air, he began to quickly attack Hip by breezing by and into him in his shell form. After doing it a few times, he grabbed Hip, and brought him down over to where Larry stood. Iggy nodded at Larry, who nodded in return. The two brothers then began to attack Hip at the same time, and the young Koopa was having trouble defending. At last, Hip managed to escape. He jumped away from the two, but just accidentally landed in between Roy and Wendy. The two grinned at each other, and both lunged at him, but Hip jumped away from them as well.

However, he was stopped mid-air by Morton who grabbed his arm and yanked him towards him. He proceeded to strike Hip quickly before tossing him over to Roy. Roy, Iggy, Wendy, and Larry began to kick Hip while he was on the ground. "Does anyone here feel bad?" Wendy asked as she contributed to Hip's pain.

"Maybe a little," Larry said.

Morton then joined Ludwig and Lemmy's battle against Hop, with the young Koopa struggling even more under the combined attempts of the three brothers. Hop was knocked down by a heavy blow delivered by Morton. As he tried to get up, this was prevented by Ludwig and Lemmy, who kept him down. At last, Hop had had it.

Using his magic wand, Hop summoned an orange, magical shield around himself. The attempts of his opponents soon became futile, as the shield nulled the damage that was picked within each of the brothers' attacks. Seeing this, they jumped back from the younger Koopa, and observed him carefully. As of right now, they saw zero ways to attack him, so they backed off. Hop then suddenly appeared behind his brother. With one swift gesture, Hop freed his brother from the onslaught of the other four Koopalings. They then quickly discussed something through silent whispers. At last, Hip nodded to his older brother. Hip revealed his magic wand. He pointed it upward, and a huge magic blast comprised of bright-orange electricity began to form. As it grew larger and larger, Hip began to make it face the tiny group consisted of Ludwig, Lemmy, and Morton. Upon reaching a stopping point, he fired.

The blast was a lot faster than the Koopalings could have predicted. It traveled through the air at a quick speed, and neared Ludwig, Lemmy, and Morton. Ludwig and Lemmy swiftly leapt out of the way to avoid being damaged, but Morton conjured his magic mallet. Eyeing the blast with determination, Morton brought his arm back, and swung at the blast. It was hit with an intense force that sent it spiraling back to Hip. Hop then added a large amount of magic to the blast, and not only did it double in size, but it turned back around as well. Morton then decided it was time to bail. He leapt out of the magic blast's path, but failed to notice Hop, who stood while pointing his magic wand at him. Morton barely saw the magic wand before he was blasted. A bright, white light filled the area, and everything in it. All of those present at the time were instantly blinded by the light. All of the Koopas swiftly covered their eyes using their arms, and waited for the light to settle down. Upon opening their eyes again, the six Koopalings that were physically unaffected by the magic blasts noticed that Morton was nowhere to be seen. Believing the worst, they began you grow angry and bitter.

"Morton...no. You _monster_ ," Roy said, glaring at the ground that lay beneath him. He then pointed at the twin who fired the blast, and glared ominously at him. "No matter what, I'm going to _kill_ you."

"Same here," Ludwig said. "No one does anything serious to any of my siblings and gets away with it."

"Oh, is that a fact?" Hop asked Ludwig, grinning.

"You can bet your life _it_ is. I don't specifically know how this is going to end, and I can't exactly make predictions yet, but in the aftermath of this, you _will_ be suffering gravely," Ludwig said to him, blinded by pure rage.

"I'm going to make you _scream_ ," Iggy said calmly.

Upon hearing this, Hip and Hop faced the siblings. "Hey, I don't know where all this aggression is coming from. We didn't kill your brother," Hip said in a slightly nervous tone of voice.

"If not, where _is_ he?" Wendy growled, defensively.

"He's right here," Hip said, pointing to whatever was behind him. There, in a cage, was Morton, who looked at the siblings in an annoyed, bored way. Upon realizing that his siblings were looking at him, Morton immediately grabbed the bars of the cage, and began to speak actively to his siblings.

"Guys!" Morton shouted. "This cage is infused with magic strong to the point where I can't escape! In fact, my magic wand is useless in this situation. It seems like their magic is more advanced than any magic we've ever encounterd!"

" _Bingo_ ," Hop said, turning his back to the largest Koopaling. "You're absolutely right! Our magic is _much_ stronger than that of our older siblings. Like I said, _don't_ underestimate us. Did anyone try to heed my warning?"

"Nope!" Hip shouted, grinning down at his opponents.

"Perhaps we should have been more cautious," Larry suggested turning to his siblings.

"That's _exactly_ what I just said, you _dolt_!" Hop yelled at the youngest Koopaling.

"Oh, _did_ you now?" Ludwig asked.

"You know what? If you don't shut up, your brother here is gonna get it! Maybe you should have thought before you spoke, _Ludwig_ ," Hop said to Ludwig.

"Actually, your threat holds no value," Ludwig replied to juvenile Koopa.

"What do you mean?" Hip asked Ludwig, frowning at the latter.

"This is what I mean: _We_ surrender!" Ludwig said to the two Koopalings twins. "If your magic wands hold that much power, and if you're already holding our brother hostage, I see no reason to continue fighting when the result is _clearly_ already seen."

"Yeah! Me neither!" Lemmy agreed with his older brother. "You guys have Morton trapped in a cage, and I would rather not risk my brother's safety! You're free to either let him go, or take us _all_ in!" Ludwig, Roy, Iggy, Wendy, and Larry stood by Lemmy's side, obviously supportive of their brother's actions. Morton gave emotional support from inside the cage, and offered a friendly glance at his siblings.

"So be it," Hop said as he and Hip stepped down to capture the other six Koopalings.


	18. Even More Trouble

"So that's how the cookie crumbles," Roy muttered as he angrily punched the wall. It was you no affect, but it still satisfied him, as Roy was truly angry. He then calmed down, and proceeded to rest on the hard floor. Roy turned his attention to Ludwig. "So, Ludwig? You have a plan, right?" Roy asked. The other Koopalings then turned to face Ludwig.

"Well, I was wondering if we could maybe melt those steel bars," Ludwig replied, pointing to the myriad of thin bars that kept them in their little jail cell.

Wendy then walked over to one of the bars. She inhaled deeply, and then released. Three fireballs instantly erupted from Wendy's throat and landed on the steel bars. The Koopalings stared at their attempt with a glimmer of hope in their eyes, but when the flames dissolved, the strong metal was still intact. " _What_?" Wendy exclaimed. She then waved to Lemmy and Morton. The two walked over to Wendy, and on the count of three, the three siblings tried to melt numerous bars at the same time. Once again, it was to no avail. "What are these things _made_ of?" Wendy asked, glaring at the obstacles.

"Magic." Wendy turned around to see Ludwig looking at the cell floor in a glum manner. Open noticing that his sister was facing him, he looked up to meet her eyes. "Remember who we're dealing with. Those twins have probably enhanced these bars so we can't escape."

"That sucks!" Iggy yelled, looking around the jail cell.

"Yeah," Lemmy sadly said, agreeing with his younger brother. "This is quite the predicament we've gotten ourselves into. We don't know how to get out of here, and those twins are probably telling their dad about their victory." Lemmy then laid on his stomach, muttering a few words.

"Well, at least we got Morton back," Larry said.

"It's good to be reunited with you guys, but I didn't exactly want to be locked in another cage, if you get want I'm saying," Morton said, thinking of the much smaller cage he had been placed in after the twins made him vanish out if the other Koopalings' sight. "If anything, it's still great that we're all back together."

Iggy suddenly got an idea. He conjured his magic wand, and waved it in a circular motion. He then swiftly fired a light-green blast of magic at the cell door, but nothing happened. In fact, Iggy saw a magical purple outline of the door when he fired. "Our magic doesn't work either, Ludwig. Do think it's because _their_ magic is superior to ours?"

"Probably," Ludwig said, unimpressed. "I doubt anything simple we come up with will work, so don't explode your brain by thinking too hard."

 _Maybe so, but let me try just one last thing_ , Iggy thought to himself. Iggy then leapt a good five feet back from the door, and blasted a much larger blast of magic at the door. This time, the magic blasts was deflected. It came towards Iggy, and the latter ducked. He dodged the blast, but it kept going. It then hit the back wall of the cell, and began to once again soar to the front wall. Upon seeing it, Roy jumped out of the way. Iggy then ducked again upon seeing the magic. Back and forth it went between the front and back walls of the cell. Before long, it had become so intense that all of the Koopalings stayed out of its path. Larry crawled over to Iggy, and punched him in the arm. "Owww," Iggy muttered, rubbing his sore arm.

"That's for causing this!" Larry yelled, angrily glaring at his older brother.

 _"This_ is for not stopping it!" Roy yelled as he kicked Iggy in the stomach.

Iggy laid on his stomach in pain. Larry then jumped on his back, and was about to pull his legs back when Wendy interrupted by grabbing Larry's arms. "Larry, that is just _uncalled_ for."

 _Thank you, Wendy_ , Iggy thought, as the pain he was already facing was a little too much for him to bear. As he began to stand up, Wendy knocked him back onto his stomach. Wendy then stood over Iggy, and placed her foot on Iggy's shell. "It was uncalled for because I wasn't invited to help with the fun." She then grinned mischievously, and jumped on him. Larry did the same, and Roy began kicking Iggy as the latter was being weighed down by his younger siblings.

At this current moment, Ludwig was staring at the light overhead, instead of at his ever-feuding younger siblings. It was built so that it was connected to the castle's vent system. The light was too high for him and his siblings to reach individually, but they could get up there if even just a few of them stacked on top of one another. Ludwig began to put his thoughts together. He then came up with a tiny factor to check the attempt. "Hey, Wendy. Could you maybe stand on Morton's shell for a second or two?" Wendy and the other male Koopalings eyed Ludwig curiously, but did as they were told, as Ludwig had proven to be a trustworthy older brother.

Wendy climbed onto Morton's shell, and quickly made her way up onto Morton's shoulders. She stood up, and Ludwig saw that the two of them were about at the midway mark for the light's height, when compared to ground, to say. Ludwig nodded approvingly, and motioned for Wendy to step down. "Okay, good. I was right."

Ludwig then yanked Iggy over to the center of the cell. This was directly underneath the light, and Iggy was forced to squint by its blinding luminosity. Once he made sure Iggy was underneath the light, he pulled Wendy and Larry over to Iggy. "I need one of you to get on Iggy's shoulders, and for the other to get on _that_ person's shoulders. Decide quickly."

Wendy and Larry then looked at each other. When he realized he had chosen the wrong siblings to do this for him, Ludwig set an annoyed expression on his face. Wendy and Larry then began to have their brief little argument.

"Well, Larry, I believe I should be on your shoulders because I have a higher rank than you do. The gap between our rankings is fairly large, so it should be easy for you to understand my reasoning," Wendy said slyly.

Lemmy, Roy, and Morton sat up to prepare for the inevitable fireworks. Since _both_ Wendy and Larry were prone to sudden fits of anger, the other Koopalings knew this was going to be a good show. Realizing that this was going to happen no matter what, Ludwig proceeded to watch as Larry began to counter Wendy. "Well, I'm the youngest. Plus, you're taller, and bigger than me," Larry stated. "Also, you weigh more than me." Larry said the last part quietly, but with a slight grin. Iggy then clapped, ready for the next action that might occur.

Wendy's eyes widened as she looked at Larry in shock. She then clenched her fists, and began to stare at him with rage. "What was that, Larry? I recall you saying something," Wendy said to Larry.

"Yep, I sure did. Look Sis, it's pretty obvious that you weigh more than me. With the weight difference between us, I doubt I could support you if you were to jump on my shoulders. I'm trying to say anything, but you know what I said is true," Larry explained himself to his sister.

Wendy said nothing. She just stood, glaring at her youngest brother with a feeling of deep hatred in her heart for a split second. It looked as if she was about to lash out on all of her brothers. Lemmy began to back away from the others, for he had already predicted this. Fortunately, Wendy cooled down. She then walked over to Iggy, and ceased walking. "Fine, you win Larry. I'll get on Iggy's shoulders! Are you happy now?" Wendy exclaimed, glaring at Larry. She did what she said. Wendy leapt onto Iggy's shoulders, and Larry leapt onto _her_ shoulders. All three of them proceeded to stand straight in the attempt to reach the light, but they were still just a little while away. Larry sighed, and called down to Ludwig. "We just need _one_ more person!"

"Alright then. Lemmy, you're up," Ludwig said cooly, waving to his first sibling. Lemmy quickly scrambled onto his feet, and walked over to the unstable tower of Iggy, Wendy, and Larry. Iggy's legs were itchy, and the Koopalings was truly suffering. This was also bad news for Wendy and Larry, as they had begun to slowly move from side to side. Ludwig fortunately noticed, and sighed. He walked over to Iggy, and proceeded to scratch the latter's legs.

" _Owww_ ," Iggy said in pain. "Your claws hurt, you know. Try to go a little easy on my skin, or you might break it!" Iggy glared at Ludwig, who glared back. Ludwig got up as if he were about to walk away. Iggy's face dropped. "Wait! No, Ludwig! I'm sorry! Please come back!" Iggy rapidly shouted to Ludwig, who turned around to gaze triumphantly at his younger brother. He walked back over to Iggy, and made the itchiness go away. He also held the tower steady so Lemmy could get to the top. Lemmy quickly climbed over Iggy, and then over Wendy. The only female Koopaling glared at Lemmy as his foot used her head to advance onto Larry's shoulders. Upon reaching the top of the tower, Lemmy was at a height he seldom experienced.

"I'm the king of the world!" Lemmy shouted, standing up to raise his hands.

"No you're not," Larry said to Lemmy, with a hint of jealousy in his voice. "Hurry up so we can get out of here! I have things to do once we get home!"

"Like what?" Morton asked Larry, looking at him with a bored expression. "You're the youngest of us, Larry. I doubt you could have any major things going on." Morton then took a few steps closer. "Either way, I'm ready to go home too."

Lemmy felt right above his head. His palms grazed the light right above him, and he then pushed it up and out of the way. Lemmy then brought it down, and threw it to the ground. Unfortunately for him, it hit Roy. " _Owww_!" Roy exclaimed, rubbing his pink head while giving an annoyed look to his older, but much smaller and shorter, brother. Iggy found it funny to the point where he had to nearly make his lungs hurt from squeezing. He felt like he was about to burst, but if he did, it wouldn't have helped Ludwig's idea in the slightest.

"My bad, Roy," Lemmy said. "Kill me later, but we have something to do." Lemmy then leapt into the vent. He waved to his siblings, and they began to climb into the air vent. Larry was the first to follow Lemmy into the vent, and Wendy soon followed. Iggy used his lanky body to get into the vent. Ludwig managed to get inside, but just barely.

The five Koopalings in the vent then looked at each other. They had yet another problem on their hands. Trying to find the right words, Iggy began to speak to Roy and Morton. "Guys, I don't think you're going to fit," Iggy said sadly. "This space is just a little too tight for your burly bodies." The five of them listened as they heard a slap to someone's forehead. It was Roy.

"Are you serious?" Roy called up to his smaller siblings.

"Unfortunately, yes," Ludwig replied, folding his arms in disbelief.

"We just have one problem after another! I just wish just wish we could get out of here!" Roy yelled. "We gave up on rescuing Peach, and we left Bowser! I just want to get out of here!"

"Yeah, I'm not exactly into all this "hero" stuff," Morton said, stomping his foot on the ground.

"Hold your horses!" Ludwig yelled to Roy and Morton. "We'll get you guys out later! For now, just try to stay calm and not doing anything drastic. Well, it's not like you can, anyway. We'll be back soon. We're gonna go and see if we can find a key of some sort to let you guys out." With that, Roy and Morton listened as their siblings crawled away from them. The sound of their movements began to fade. As the five Koopalings' endless movements eventually faded away, Roy and Morton sat alone, deeply consumed by their current location's ambience. Troubled by his troubles, Roy laid on his stomach, and began to take a little nap. Just as he was about to drift off, he heard a sound close to him. He sat up, and saw Morton standing a few feet away from him. Morton was gazing up at the space in the ceiling the others had escaped through. He stared at it with a very meaningful expression. This was an expression that made Roy immediately assume what was about to happen. _Don't do it, Morton_ , Roy thought as he watched his younger brother. Morton then bent his legs, and leapt. He managed to jump _just_ high enough to reach the emptied spot in the ceiling. He gripped onto it tightly, and began to pull himself up. Morton's weight made the ceiling droop to just a few centimeters below its original placement. He eventually managed to get his upper body into the vent, but just a mere few seconds later, Morton found himself stuck.

"Um, Roy? I'm kind of stuck here," Morton said to his older brother.

"Yeah, I see. Come here," Roy said with a sigh, reluctantly. Roy then leapt into the air, and grabbed onto Morton's legs, which were beginning to grow stiff due to hanging over the edge of a hard surface. He began to pull, but nothing happened. _Huh?_ Roy thought. _I thought that would do the trick. It doesn't look like my strength is going to help me. Very well then._ He then let tried to weigh Morton down, but once again, nothing happened. _This is getting frustrating. What's going on?_ Roy practically mentally yelled. He let go and fell to the ground, defeated. "Morton, I can't get you out! Maybe bursting the vent is the only way to free you!" Roy up to Morton. Morton sighed, but suddenly froze. Somewhere that wasn't too far away, footsteps were approaching. They sounded heavy.

"Roy! Get me down! Someone's coming!" Morton rapidly yelled to Roy. This wasn't a time to question anything. Roy quickly bolted over to Morton, and leapt into the air. He tried to yank his brother down, but it was to no avail.

The footsteps got closer and closer as Roy tried with all his might to bring his brother down to the floor. He tried again and again, but the outcome was the same. Suddenly the footsteps stopped, and Roy turned to see Bully smiling mischievously at him from the cell door. Roy immediately dropped to the stone floor, and pointing a finger at the eldest of King Koopa's children. "You! I was wondering when you would meet again!"

Bully taunted Roy by sticking out his tongue, which made the third-eldest Koopaling glare at him while grabbing two of the cell bars with a deep intensity. "Me too, _pal_! I was wondering when I would get the chance to beat you into the ground!"

"As if that would ever happen, _clone_!" Roy replied.

"We'll see now, won't we?" Bully said.

"It would appear so," Roy said.

"Um, exactly who _are_ you?" Morton asked, ending the brief little "threatening competition" between Roy and Bully. "Either one of you can explain. I don't really care."

"In that case, my name is-," Bully's response was cut short by the interference of a powerful Koopa. A punch sent Bully tumbling to the ground. Upon hitting the ground, Bully instantly became unconscious. There, standing over the unconscious Koopa like a triumphant brute, was Bowser.


	19. Cleverness

Roy and Morton stared at Bowser for a long time, and the larger Koopa stared back at them. The two of them couldn't even look away. The intensity of Bowser's red eyes were forcing Roy and Morton's eyes to stare right at them. Although they didn't show their apprehension, both Roy and Morton knew they were trapped. Bowser knew this as well, and he continued to stare at the siblings, almost in a mocking manner. At last, Roy could not take this any longer, so he spoke. "Um...we didn't expect to see _you_ here," Roy said to Bowser, placing a fake smile on his face.

"Me neither," Bowser said to Roy, trying to conceal his anger. "Just about an hour ago, Junior and I turned around to see that four of our _most_ faithful followers weren't there!" Bowser then glanced around, and noticed that none of the other Koopalings besides Morton were here. His rage had blinded him, and he slapped his forehead in disappointment as he began to speak. "If you're here, Roy, Morton, where are Ludwig, Wendy, and Larry? Also, where are Lemmy and Iggy?"

Roy and Morton looked at each other nervously. They did not know if telling Bowser the whereabouts or their siblings was a good idea, for Bowser still seemed to have a vendetta against them. Even though Lemmy, Iggy, and Morton weren't there when Ludwig, Roy, Wendy, and Larry had betrayed Bowser, the reptilian tyrant didn't care. However, Bowser was probably going to harm _them_ if they wouldn't tell him where they were. At last, Roy spoke. "They escaped from this cell."

"What?" Bowser eyes widened in shock. "How?"

Morton pointed upward at the area on the ceiling where the other Koopalings had gone. "They escaped through there. You know how they have smaller bodies, right? Lemmy took the light out of its place, and crawled into the vent system. The others followed, but Roy and I wouldn't fit because of our body size," Morton explained to his former boss.

"Yeah," Roy said, nodding to his younger brother. "The others left to see if they could find a way to get us out of here."

Bowser pointed to the bars of Roy and Morton's current cell. "Wait, you mean you can't get out of _these_ flimsy things?" Bowser asked. "You guys must not be as strong as you thought! Watch _this_!" Roy and Morton looked on as Bowser cracked his knuckles. He then took a deep breath, and exhaled. Bowser then brought back his massive fist, and punched one of the thin bars. Bowser suddenly froze. Roy and Morton looked at each other, shocked and confused. Just as they were about to approach their former boss, Bowser quickly pulled his hand away from the bar. He rubbed it tenderly, and moaned in pain. Roy and Morton looked away, and snickered. Bowser heard this, and narrowed his eyes at the two siblings. "What's so funny? You guys can't do any better. I'm stronger than both of you, remember?" Bowser replied.

"We know. That was just too funny," Roy laughed, holding his sides. He then suddenly became serious. "You remember what we said, right?"

"Huh?" Bowser asked, gazing at the Koopaling with curiosity.

"We _said_ that our siblings left to find something to help us out. If you can't get us out of here, I'm pretty sure are siblings are more than capable of doing so," Morton said to Bowser. "For now, you might as well just leave us here for the mean time."

Bowser folded his arms. He looked away from Roy and Morton. "Whatever," Bowser said as he turned to exit the room, leaving Roy and Morton alone with the largest of King Koopa's children. As soon as they heard Bowser's thunderous footsteps fade for good behind the heavy, closed door, Roy and Morton began to develop an idea. Roy took a deep breath, and began to walk over to Bully, who laid unconsciously outside of the cell. After glaring at the Koopa for a few seconds, Roy reached out for him, and poked Bully on the arm with his wand. Upon being touched, Bully jolted up. He pushed Roy's magic wand away, and quickly stood up, glaring at Roy and Morton.

"What do you want?" Bully demanded rudely, not even bothering to face Roy and Morton.

"We were wondering if you could maybe let us out in exchange for something," Roy said to Bully, grinning slyly. Morton stood a few feet behind Roy, and nodded his head. "You seem like you're clueless about a few things happening right around you. I could probably help you out if you help us."

"What kind of information do you have for me?" Bully asked, grasping two of the bars. "If I manage to capture someone, King Dad might give me a raise in my allowance! Tell me now!"

"Come in the cage and we'll tell you," Morton said.

"You've got to be kidding. That's the oldest trick in the book! Wait, what am I saying? I don't read books to begin with! Forgot what you just saw!" Bully demanded, trying to cover his little argument with himself. "All you need to be concerned with is the fact that I'm not coming in there!"

"Okay, tough guy. Have it your way. Roy and I will just keep all this _valuable_ information to ourselves," Morton said, beginning to lay on the ground. Roy began to do the same.

"You guys don't know _anything_!" Bully shouted to the siblings. "You two couldn't help me if you tried! I don't even know why I'm still here!"

"Me neither," Roy said, with his back to Bully. "All you're doing is stinking up the place."

Bully set a key into his hand, and he vigorously opened the door. Once he opened it, he dropped the key right outside the entrance, for he was blinded by rage. He marched up to Roy, and stood before the third-oldest Koopaling. He made Roy face him, and he began to yell furiously in his face. For some reason, Roy was being suspiciously passive at the moment. Bully wasn't even in the right state of mind to even attempt to ponder this, nor was he in the right state of mind to notice Morton was inching towards the door. Morton began to move slowly and stealthily until he reached the cell key. He silently walked outside of the cell. He thought of a good way to carry out the rest of the plan. "Roy!" Morton yelled loudly.

At the sound of Morton's cue, Roy pushed Bully to the ground. The latter tried to trip him, but Roy saw this. He leapt over Bully's arm, and dashed over to Morton. He dashed out of the cell. Morton slammed the door shut, and locked it. Bully tried to charge towards the door at the last second, but he only succeeded in crashing into it. He fell to the floor, and glared at the siblings.

"It looks like you lose!" Roy taunted Bully.

"Again," Morton added.

The two of them then walked over the the room's door, and exited. They found themselves in a large hallway with very high ceilings, and the hallways were filled with luscious red carpets. As interested as Morton was into the construction he saw, he knew there was no time to waste. "All right, Roy. It's time to make our move."


	20. Operation 2

Lemmy crawled through the vent with energy. Although his limbs were beginning to become sore, Lemmy ignored this. He listened to the sounds of his siblings behind him. While Roy and Morton were off on their own plan, Lemmy led Larry, Wendy, Iggy, and Ludwig, in that order, through the vent. He listened to the sounds of Larry's constant complaints, and he listened to Wendy as she barked at Larry, ordering him to move faster. She was still a little upset about earlier, and decided to take it out on the person who had upset her. Iggy trailed behind Wendy, trying not to make Wendy come after him. Ludwig crawled at the end of the line, trying to get Iggy to speed up. Lemmy smiled as he thought of reuniting with Roy and Morton. For now, he was stuck with his other four siblings. The five of them were currently oblivious to the fact that their siblings had escaped.

"Hurry up, slowpokes!" Lemmy called to his siblings as he took the lead. He was the first to get into the vent, therefore it would have been too much of a hassle to switch spots with someone. Although they knew this, having Lemmy as the current leader didn't exactly excite Ludwig, Iggy, Wendy, and Larry. It _especially_ didn't excite Larry.

"Hold your horses, Lemmy! We're _trying_ to hurry!" Larry yelled to Lemmy. Although Larry was directly behind Lemmy, he was having a hard time catching up due to the tight space. Plus, Larry's knees were beginning to hurt.

"Well try harder!" Lemmy responded to Larry. "I know you're not exactly the most formidable Koopaling, but do try to keep up." Lemmy then turned his head to glance at Larry over his shoulder. He smiled at his youngest brother, who smiled back. The two of them both had very innocent smiles.

The five siblings then continued to crawl throughout Koopa Castle's enormous vent system. They had something important to do. It was the goal of finding something to help them rescue Roy and Morton. This was enough to make the five of them focus intensely at the task at hand. Lemmy, Larry, Wendy, Iggy, and Ludwig shut their mouths. They ended all conversation that had occurred, and even eliminated those that had the chance of soon occurring. As a result of doing this, the five siblings were able to enjoy absolute peace and quiet as they continued their quest. The silence was much-needed, as the Koopalings included in this group were prone to getting off topic, especially Lemmy, Iggy, and Larry.

Although his knees began to hurt as Larry's had several minutes before, Lemmy continued to crawl through the vent. As the person in the front, it was his duty to maintain everything going on at the front of their line. Ludwig held the back end of their little expedition squad, trying to see through Iggy's hair, but failing. He considered to begin speaking angrily to his younger brother, but he changed his mind, for there was no point. Ludwig, however, was the one to break the silence.

Ludwig cleared his throat before speaking. "So, has anyone been keeping track of the time? It is feels like it's _at least_ been half of an hour by now," Ludwig said, yawning. He also stretched, at least to the best of his current abilities, as the tightness of the pipe had limited the amount of movement he could make.

Larry took out his phone as he was crawling. He checked it, and it read 11:35 P.M. Larry's eyes widened as he began to put together the necessary words required to answer Ludwig. "Big Bro, it's 11:35. 36!" Larry yelled, correcting himself as the current time increased by one minute.

"Day or night?" Ludwig questioned, rubbing his eyes.

"Day."

With that, Ludwig nodded. He then refocused his eyes and mind on whatever laid ahead. Larry returned to whatever he was doing as well. With the sounds of their limbs coming into contact with the metal over and over again, the five of them had grown used to the sounds of the vents. It wasn't long before they had all calmed their minds once again, and they all came into the mindset of rescuing their siblings once again. They all began to think of a possible game plan for their cause. They began to ponder on whether or not they should engage immediately or capture their opponents one by one. It was Iggy who thought about this several times, until at last he had an idea. "Guys! I have an idea, and it's a good one too!" Iggy exclaimed. He began to giggle crazily, much to the annoyance his siblings.

"Oh yeah, what's your plan?" Ludwig asked. "I hope you don't intend to annoy them all to death. I'm sure it would be effective, but I'm sure we'd get caught in the crossfire." Ludwig then cackled to himself, but Iggy shrugged this off.

"No. It's not that."

"Then _what_ is it, Iggy?!" Wendy demanded, obviously fed up with older brother's stalling. "If you don't tell us what your plan is, Larry and I are gonna beat you up. _Right now_."

"Yeah, so look out," Larry laughed.

"Are the threats _really_ necesary?" Ludwig asked his younger siblings. They all ignored his rhetorical comment, and focused on each other.

"I think we should establish a base somewhere in the castle!" Iggy blurted, gazing around to spot the reactions of the present Koopalings.

"No offense, Iggs, but making a base in the enemy's own _territory_ is basically suicidal," Lemmy said to Iggy. "If anything, we should just find a proper key for the cell, get Roy and Morton, leave the castle, and never come back!"

"Listen, Lemmy," Iggy began. "If we have base in their _own_ home, we'll be able to easily slip around the castle to carry out our other goals. Once we strike, we retreat to the base, and plan our next move. It's flawless!"

"What do we even have to carry out _anyway_? Once we get our brothers, we're not longer in the picture. I don't exactly know what _your_ point of view is, Iggy, but I don't see any reason to stick around once we have what we want, " Larry said. "Continuing to stay in the castle and plot attacks is just _asking_ for more trouble!"

Everyone was surprised by this. Larry, the youngest and least mature Koopaling, well maybe superior to only Lemmy and Iggy, had said something that shocked more than half of his older siblings. It was quite rare for Larry to say something that made him sound like a real leader or decision-maker, but when he did, it was truly marvelous. Ludwig gazed at his youngest brother from afar. It was a gaze of pride, as Ludwig was happy with his little brother. Still, Iggy wasn't ready to back down.

"Even if we _don't_ have any more business here once we rescue Roy and Morton, what are we going to do if we find ourselves outnumbered? Basically, it's five young Koopas against an entire army, plus the royal family that commands it. Even if we do get Roy and Morton, that's still only two people added to our side, and there are over a thousand of them. What do you have to say to that, _Larry_?"

"First of all, chill. I don't see why you're getting mad at me. I haven't even _tried_ to be annoying yet! If you're gonna be mad at anyone, be mad at yourself. Court adjourned!" Larry shouted, throwing his hands into the air.

"'Mad at yourself?' You're just making me laugh now, Larry. In fact, you should be a comedian. People say I'm a sadistic person. That is true. However, what I _truly_ funny is Larry's pain," Iggy said. "In fact, I might inflict some pain on you you _myself_."

"Go ahead and try. After all, you're the guest of honor," Larry replied.

Iggy then began to move steadily towards Larry. He shoved his way past Wendy, and proceeded to fade his little brother, who he was a lot taller than. Ludwig, Lemmy, and Wendy backed away, for a fight was about to happen. With the enclosed space of the vent, it was going to be even more dangerous. As they waited, the predicted moment finally arrived. Iggy suddenly pushed Larry to the metallic floor, and jumped on him. Iggy weighed his brother down, and it would have been over if Larry hadn't of escaped, and jumped on Iggy. Larry began to Choke Iggy. He brought him down to the ground, where they began to roll around to the best of their abilities. Once that became tiresome, the two brothers wrestled each other, with Iggy easily dominating Larry. It wasn't until Larry put Iggy into a choke hold that he had the advantage. Iggy was to the right of him, and Larry wrapped his right arm around Iggy's neck. This began to cut off his oxygen. As Iggy panicked, Larry took this time to jump on Iggy's back. Larry used all of his weight to weight Iggy down. Then he flipped Iggy onto his back. Larry sat on Iggy's stomach, pinning him, as he began to throw multiple punches at his older, lanky brother. Iggy eventually managed to turn the tables on his little brother, and he flipped Larry onto the latter's stomach. Larry was winded for a second. As he finally became undizzy, and began to pull himself upward, Iggy sat on his back, causing Larry to become vulnerable. Iggy pulled Larry's arms backwards until the latter screamed. Larry then became exhausted, and he laid on the vent surface with Iggy on top of him. He couldn't do anything but rest. At last, Ludwig began to feel sympathy for his little brother. "Alright, Iggy. That's enough," Ludwig said. Iggy nodded and got off on Larry, you moaned in relief once Iggy's weight was no longer present on his body.

A flashing blue light then began to slightly illuminate the tiny crawl space. The male Koopalings looked everywhere but at their sister. It took them a while to realize the light was being emitted from Wendy's phone. It was a notification.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Check it!" Ludwig yelled rudely.

"Alright, alright, don't rush me!" Wendy responded. She typed the password to her phone's Lock Screen. Once she came to the Home Page, she looked at her Messages. She had one unread message. It was from Roy. After looking at it for a few seconds, she turned around slowly to face her other brothers. "Guys, Roy and Morton aren't already gone."

"Gone?!" Lemmy asked, alerted.

"Yep."


	21. The Only Girl

"What do you mean they're _gone_?!" Ludwig asked.

"I mean exactly what I said. Roy and Morton somehow managed to get out of the cage. Also, Roy said Bowser is somewhere in the castle, so we might want to look out," Wendy said to her oldest brother. Ludwig then proceeded to pelt her with even more questions. As he began to let his words slip through, quickly, Lemmy, Iggy, and Larry turned to face their sister.

"Do you know where they are?" Ludwig asked, ignoring Wendy's previous statement. He then crawled over to Wendy so he could speak to her without the hassle of not being able to hear each other.

"Of course not," Wendy said, frowning at Ludwig. "How am _I_ supposed to know? All they did was tell me they were safe. That's it."

Ludwig then hit his sister, which caused the other present Koopalings to stare in shock. Wendy rubbed her cheek gingerly, and gradually looked Ludwig in the eye. " _Owww_ ," she said sarcastically.

"Come on, Wendy! You had the chance to ask for their location, and you blew it!" Ludwig then turned his back to his only sister. Wendy held her head down in shame, and Ludwig heard this. _Be strong, Ludwig. Be strong_ , he thought. _Being a big brother for six people is tough. I wonder if I'm even doing it right._ Ludwig then crawled away from Wendy, and sat behind Lemmy, who led the tiny crew of five siblings; At least until they got out. With most of her brothers, Wendy would immediately attack them if they were to annoy her, but with Ludwig, it was a different story.

"Yeah! Come on, sis! We would've known the location of our brothers if you wouldn't have screwed it all up!" Larry yelled.

"Yeah Wendy! We would've been with Roy and Morton if it wasn't for you. It seems like you've ruined our chances, _once again_ ," Iggy said, adding to the already-brutal comment emitted by Larry.

"Guys, chill out!" Ludwig yelled, suddenly leaping onto his knees. He quickly rushed away from Lemmy to hit both Iggy and Larry. The two younger Koopalings were left rubbing their attacked areas and scowling at their oldest brother. They looked at each other, and glared simultaneously in agreement. Just as Iggy was about to open his mouth, Ludwig intervened. "You guys need to stop being so brutal! We've _all_ made mistakes in the past. It's best to just learn from them and to never make the same mistake ever again."

"Whatever," Iggy mumbled, shrugging his shoulders in disagreement. "No matter _how_ you phrase it, Wendy ruined our chances of ever coming into contact with our brothers! We already don't know where they are! Now, we have to worry about King Koopa, his kids, and Bowser!" Iggy then narrowed his eyes to flash Wendy a demonic grin.

"Yeah, I'm with Iggs! Wendy's the reason we're even stuck in here in the first place!" Larry agreed with his brother.

"Give me _one_ reason why I'm to blame for our recent imprisonment!" Wendy demanded, leaping into Larry's face. She jabbed a clawed finger to Larry's chest. "Just _one_ , I tell you!"

"You guys should just calm down. You're gonna make our enemies find us," Lemmy whispered, trying to calm his siblings. They all proceeded to face him for a few seconds, then they turned their attention back to each other. "Come on, Ludwig. Do I seriously have to take the role of the responsible older brother now? Just look at me! I'm the _most_ immature Koopaling!"

"I _am_ being mature! The others are fighting, and I'm trying to keep them quiet," Ludwig argued.

"As _if_ , Ludwig," Lemmy raised his voice. "You were doing a good deal of the fighting. I know I'm talking about _verbal_ fighting, but you just engaged in _physical_ fighting too. You literally _just_ hit Iggy, Wendy, and Larry. I know I'm not in the position to say this, but you're beginning to turn into a very abusive older brother," Lemmy said, shocking all of the other Koopalings.

Ludwig whipped his head around to stare angrily at his younger brother. He placed a confident hand on his hip, and pointed the other at Lemmy. "Look, Lemmy. I know it may seem as if I'm to blame, but trust me. I'm on _your_ side. My goal is to stop _these three_ from fighting, or possibly killing each other," Ludwig assured Lemmy, gesturing to Iggy, Wendy, and Larry.

"But in the process of doing that, all you did was create even more arguments. Nothing you did helped, Ludwig," Lemmy contradicted, trying to raise a point.

"Well, you can't expect Iggy, Wendy, and Larry to come to a conclusion immediately. Whenever _any_ of us fight, we're never eager to admit it was our fault. We like to continue arguing and fighting until the one who started the fight is clearly transparent to the rest of us. You can't deny this, Lemmy. You know _you_ do a lot of fighting," Ludwig said back.

"Yeah! Ludwig's right! Why is Lemmy yelling at us? It's not _our_ fault this argument broke out!" Larry yelled, pushing away from Wendy.

"Hey, you're right! It's not _our_ fault, it's Wendy's fault!" Iggy shouted. He giggled hysterically to himself as if he had just heard a funny joke. " _There_. I think we have our conclusion."

"Are you serious?" Ludwig asked rhetorically, dropping his head in annoyance. "You literally just repeated the line that _started_ all this. We had come a good way from that line, and you just sent us back in time. Good _job_ , Iggy."

"Iggy, I promise I'm going to crack your shell once we get home if you don't _shut up_!" Wendy growled to her older, lanky brother.

Iggy taunted Wendy by smacking his rear end, as he usually did to try to anger or make his foes doubt themselves. He then cackled mischievously to himself. Wendy took a few steps in order to get right in front of him. She sat there. She stared up at Iggy, glaring at him in silent rage. Iggy gazed interestingly down at her, eager to antagonize his little sister even further. Larry crawled silently past them to sit by Lemmy, who watched Iggy and Wendy with a wide, childish grin on his face. This was a sign that meant Lemmy had given up. Ludwig watched the two of them silently. He was about to think something that was sharp and cold, but erased this thought, realizing that he had barely fared better than Lemmy. Now, Iggy and Wendy were about to fight. This was _literally_ right after Iggy and Larry had fought, for which the winner had been Iggy.

Instead of watching the fight like Lemmy and Larry were going to, Ludwig conjured one of his favorite books from his magic wand. He sat down, lost in the myriad of paper, sentences, and details that comprised his book. He picked up where he had last left off, which was about about a few chapters after the midway mark of the book. Ludwig felt himself being stared down. He glanced up to see Lemmy and Larry staring blatantly at him. He gave them both a tiny smile, and got back to his book, closing any connections to what was occurring in the outside world.

Lemmy and Larry watched Ludwig as he read his book in silence. They weren't surprised that this was what Ludwig had chosen. When two or more of his younger siblings were about to fight one another, he was prone to react to the situation by doing one of the following two options: He would either try to prevent the fight or break it up on the spot, or he would merely watch in silence, while most likely occupying his time by doing something, such as reading, playing video games, or watching T.V. In this situation, Ludwig had chosen option number two. He was used to his siblings fighting continuously to the point where he now had an idea or how or when they would stop. How or _whenever_ the fight between Iggy and Wendy was going to stop, Ludwig showed zero signs of this knowledge. Lemmy and Larry looked at each other, shrugged, and went back to watching Iggy and Wendy, who _still_ hadn't moved since Ludwig had begun reading his book.

Wendy suddenly turned away from Iggy. She held her head down, and wore a sad, defeated expression. She knelt down towards the metallic surface of the vent. She opened her mouth, and proceeded to melt a hole in the vent. It was a hole that was large enough for her to slip through, so she did just that. She lowered herself down until just her hands were still present in the vent. The rest of her body dangled over the area of whatever location in the castle the vent lay above. She then raised herself _just_ enough for her two, shiny, golden bracelets to be visible to her brothers. They shiny, luxurious gleam sent bright, white, rays of light flying all around in the vent. They reflected off walls, and illuminated the entire vent. The light rays built themselves up and bounced around to the point where they began to blind the eyes of Wendy's brothers. Wendy was save from the light because she wasn't necessarily _in_ the vent. One by one, Ludwig, Lemmy, Iggy, and Larry began to suffer under the bright, shiny properties of raw light. Ludwig let out a painful yell as the light first hit his cornea. It sent him to the floor, where he shielded his eyes. This allowed for the light to reach Lemmy, who responded in the same manner as Ludwig. Iggy suffered the most, as the fact that he wore glasses meant that the light was only getting reflected even more. He stumbled back, and hit his head on the floor. He was instantly knocked unconscious. Larry screamed in surprise as the light began to reach his eyes. He sat down, rubbing his eyes rapidly. At that moment, Wendy took that display of light as her chance to leave. She dropped into the uncharted waters of King Koopa's castle, and disappeared.

The rays of light continued to bounce back and forth between the walls of the vent system. It wasn't until several minutes of suffering passed that the rays of light finally faded away. Ludwig was the first to come back to his senses. He gradually rose to his feet. His arms were sore from preventing the light from reaching his eyes, and he winced in pain as his arms involuntarily moved at his sides. For a few seconds there, he didn't remember a thing about what had just occurred. He glanced in a confused way around the room, and saw his younger brothers, who were still on the floor from the sudden, blinding situation. Ludwig felt as if someone were missing. He proceeded to count all of those who were near him, including himself, and ended up with the sum of four. It then hit him. He darted over to the newfound hole in the vent. He knelt down beside it, and peered out at whatever laid beneath him. He could not see a single sign of his sister. Ludwig grunted in frustion. He was about to gather Lemmy, Iggy, and Larry, but thought against it. In the vent, their safety was predetermined. Wendy, on the other hand, could be in trouble at any moment.

Ludwig leapt through the hole and found himself in a closet-type room filled with mops, brooms, and dustpans. There were several cobwebs everywhere, and the room was very dusty. _Out of all the closets I've ever seen, which isn't too big of a list, this has to be the largest closet I've ever seen_ , Ludwig thought as he began to take a few calm steps around the room. This was true. This room was very large. It was large to the point to where about fifty Bowsers could fit in the room without a problem. He wondered what such a room might be used for, but then decided not to ponder it too intensely. He had a sister to find.

Ludwig exited the room through a very large, stone door. It creaked slightly as Ludwig pushed against it. The noise was intensely irritating, but Ludwig had to open it as slowly and stealthily as possible, unless he wanted to attract the attention of whoever might be in the place he was about to end up in. At last, the door was opened enough for him to slip through. Ludwig did so, and found himself in a long, well-lit hallway. There were several doors on each side of the hallway, and there were several statues everywhere. _King Koopa...That's not new_ , Ludwig thought to himself. He then began to walk down the hallway, being very cautious of his surroundings, considering that this was his first time being here. He could possibly need to remember something about this place, in case he might need information like that for something in the future. He heard nothing besides his own footsteps and the cackling of nearby torches as he walked steadily down the hallway. As he continued to walk, he could see the end of the hallway begin to come into focus as he neared it. Ludwig's eyes widened, as he obviously wasn't expecting this hallway's end to come so _soon_.

Ludwig looked around for any possible routes to avoid coming to an abrupt hault, but found nothing of the sort. As soon as he came to the end of the hallway, he saw something he had never seen before. It was a large portrait of King Koopa. It was placed against the wall, and Ludwig snorted in disgust upon finding himself viewing such an ugly piece of art. _What a waste of raw material_ , Ludwig thought coldly. He then found to turn his head to the left to prevent himself from bursting out loud in mocking laughter. As soon as his eyes focused on something strange on the wall, his brain immediately began to develop and consider possible ideas of what it was. On the wall, there was a spot that was darker than the rest of the wall. Considering how much King Koopa seemed to like making everything equivalent and neat, Ludwig there was something more to this spot on the wall. _Only one way to find out_ , Ludwig thought, taking a step towards the wall. He touched the dark spot. It felt surprisingly soft and thin. Also, it felt strangely _leathery_. Ludwig pushed on it until it opened up, revealing a dark, secluded room. He looked around, but couldn't see anything. He used his magic wand to help improve his sight, but saw nothing that interested him.

He stepped out of the room, and saw another dark spot on the opposite wall. He pushed it, and it moved upward. Ludwig stepped through, and found himself in a room with a collection of abandoned chairs and tables. He steered clear of the forgotten furniture, not wanting to get himself dusty. He walked further into the room, and found a large, brick door on the back wall of the dark, dusty room. He opened it, and was surprised at what he saw. The room it led to had a collection of instruments. The collection was so far and wide that it would've taken Ludwig several years to fully enjoy the multitude of complexities that occupied the room. They were pianos, piccolo, and penny whistles. They were trombones, tubas, and trumpets. There were clarinets, cellos, and congas. Also, on the piano, sat something else that mattered dearly to him: Wendy. She didn't appear to see him, so Ludwig was about to come to her. Just as he was about to take his first few steps, someone gripped both of his shoulders. Instinctively, Ludwig jabbed his elbows back at whatever was behind him.

" _Why_?" Iggy questioned as he rubbed his chest gingerly.

Ludwig quickly turned around to see Iggy standing behind him. "Sorry Iggs. You can say I hit you, but you can't say your innocent. _You_ snuck up on _me_ , remember?" Ludwig replied to his younger, lanky brother.

"I know that, but that still hurt. _A lot_ ," Iggy said, responding to Ludwig.

"Like I said, sorry. Moving on...why are you here? I made sure that I didn't bring any of you guys with me," Ludwig questioned Iggy.

"Oh. I saw you leap after Wendy a few minutes after she left. I had to wait a few seconds before I could get up and come after you. I happened to catch up with you while you were too busy being astonished by the contents of this room. Don't worry. Lemmy and Larry are fine. It's Wendy we had to worry about, right?" Iggy said.

"Ludwig? Iggy? That's sort of touching," Wendy said from on top of the piano. She had heard the entire conversation between Ludwig and Iggy, and she was touched. She jumped off of the instrument, and began to walk over to her older brothers.

"Well, it's true. We couldn't leave our sister to be harmed out here, especially in a messed up, sinister place like _this_!" Iggy yelled, gesturing to the room, which was dimly lit and somewhat creepy.

Wendy walked up to Iggy, and hugged him. She then took a step back and smiled sweetly. "Well, it's great to know you guys carry about me enough to come and look for me after I disappeared. That was really thoughtful of you guys. On second thought, I am your only family, besides the only four, of course," Wendy said.

"Why did you run off in the _first_ place?" Ludwig asked. "That light hurt, you know! We were nearly blinded, especially Iggy."

"Sorry about that, you guys. I had my reasons for doing that to each of you. Iggy and Larry were the two that blamed me in the first place, and you, Ludwig, were the one that _hit_ me. Lemmy didn't do anything to anger or annoy me, but I couldn't have roused any suspicion, so he had to suffer because of a mere placement malfunction. I ran off because you all were against me. I didn't like having all my brothers against me, the only _girl_ ," Wendy replied, glancing sadly at the ground.

"Sorry, Wendy. What I did was unnecessary," Ludwig apologized.

"Sorry, Wendy. What _I_ did was unnecessary," Iggy apologized.

Ludwig and Iggy then stepped forward to hug Wendy simultaneously. She accepted their hugs without a struggle, which was nearly a first.

* * *

Lemmy and Larry were busy with a little problem of there own. After bring awakened from their forced state of vulnerability, they found themselves in an arena of some sort. It was hidden deep within the castle, and something had taken them here. After talking amongst one another for quite some time. A set of bars had risen, revealing a dark corridor. Out of the dark corridor had come Bowser, who had a personal vendetta against the Koopalings because they had betrayed and abandoned them. Lemmy and Larry had laid on the ground, nearly paralyzed, as Bowser approached with large, thunderous stomps.

Bowser had challenged them to a fight. He had even allowed the two of them to work together to see if they could beat him. Lemmy and Larry had considered if they wanted to agree to it or not, but soon realized they didn't have a choice. Compared to Bowser, the two of them weighed nothing. This comparison was practically the same when it came to strength. However, Bowser wanted a fight, and the two siblings were going to give one to him, no matter had badly the outcome would be. As soon as the fight had begun, every second following had been chaotic.

Bowser had tried to charge at Lemmy first. He raised a gigantic fist, and sent it towards the smallest Koopaling. Lemmy, being the most nimble Koopaling, had rolled out of the punch's devastating path. Bowser's fist punched a hole in the floor. Bowser then tried to punch Lemmy again. Once again, Lemmy had dodged. Bowser then tried to attack Lemmy through a cycle of powerful, quick punches that were fueled by pure rage. Lemmy had dodged all of the tyrant's punches with ease. In fact, he was practically toying with his former boss. _Why isn't he counterattacking?_ Bowser thought as his punches were evaded over and over. His answer then came to him. With Lemmy occupying Bowser by being annoying and impossible to hit, this had left a clean window for Larry. Larry had leapt into the air, and sent three quick fireballs aiming for the large Koopa's right leg. Bowser moaned in a slight pain as he felt the fire slightly singe his skin. He then had tried to get back at Larry by throwing Lemmy at Larry. He had succeeded in the first part, but Larry had evaded Lemmy mid-air.

Larry then came bolting in at Bowser. He revealed his tennis racket and made a swing at Bowser's face. Bowser's eyes widened in shock as he was first struck. Then, Larry hit him seven times in a row. Bowser then grabbed the tennis racket. He held it high above his head. The tennis racket came crashing down on Larry's head. Larry was knocked to the floor, and Bowser's kicked him across the arena. Lemmy got a sudden surprise attack on Bowser by kicking one of his bouncy circus balls at the latter. Bowser was knocked back a few inches, and glared at Lemmy's childish attempt. Lemmy then kicked several more at Bowser. Bowser caught all of these, however. His arms were full. This was what Lemmy was counting on. He then threw a large bomb at Bowser. Bowser didn't have the time or agility to react. He was caught in the explosion, and stood, charred and shocked. Bowser the dusted himself off, and slapped Lemmy down to the ground. He tried to stomp on Lemmy, but the latter evaded and jumped over to stand next to Larry, who had recovered as well.

"That was pretty fun, but I think it's time to get serious," Larry said.

"Yeah. I think the same. Bowser, we plan to defeat you, and make sure you never mention our names again," Lemmy said.

Bowser chuckled. "Bring it on, shorties!"


	22. Bowser's Defeat

Lemmy and Larry leapt out of the way simultaneously as Bowser charged at them with his claws sharpened. Bowser stopped where they had been, and sent a cloud of flames towards Lemmy. Lemmy quickly evaded the fire by leaping away, but then had to dodge again due to the flames' speed. This time, Lemmy tried something different. He leapt back from the direction of Bowser's fiery breath and, while mid-air, sent a collection of icy chunks towards the fire. The fire melted the ice, which extinguished the fire after it was forcibly converted into its liquid form. Bowser then got inside of his shell, and began to spin towards Lemmy at a fast velocity. The smallest Koopaling quickly conjured another one of his circus balls. He bounced it between the ground and his hands several times before leaping onto it, which sent him towards the arena's ceiling. Bowser obviously missed, and was left to wave an angry fist at the second-oldest Koopaling.

" _Ughh_...Curse you! Stop being cheap and fight me like a _real_ Koopa! Stop being such a clown and get down from there! I've even let your brother help you, and you're _still_ cowering in my might!" Bowser yelled upwards at Lemmy, who appeared to be amused by Bowser's showy boasting.

"I'll come down here when I see a clear opening. Speaking of clear openings, what's that?" Lemmy asked, pointing.

Bowser quickly turned his head to see Larry running towards him. The youngest Koopaling was empty-handed. Bowser tried to throw a quick, cheap punch at Larry, but the latter leaped _over_ Bowser's massive fist. Larry dropkicked Bowser. Bowser eyes narrowed in anger when Bowser realized _Larry_ had gotten a legitimate hit on him. Bowser swung his spiky tail at him, but Larry ducked underneath it and proceeded to hit Bowser in the face with his magic wand. Bowser threw him to the hard ground, but Larry jumped back up. He kicked Bowser in the stomach with both feet. Bowser grunted as he doubled over in pain.

"Cheap...," Bowser muttered, annoyed.

Bowser then tried to trip Larry, but the latter jumped into the air. Larry landed on Bowser's shell, where he stood triumphantly. Bowser glared upwards at Larry, and was about to knock him off when Lemmy intervened. Lemmy threw his magic wand at Bowser. It turned and spun several times in the air before it made clear contact with Bowser's blubbery cheek. Bowser's head was forcibly turned to the side. Bowser shook himself wildly, and Larry lost his balance, and fell off Bowser's shell. Bowser then stood up. He stood over Larry, who was shocked beyond recognition. Bowser kicked Larry, who was thrown several feet from Bowser. Bowser then caught Lemmy's small foot, and threw him over to Larry. Lemmy collided into Larry, and he laid on top of his brother, too injured to move.

Larry carefully moved Lemmy off of him, and began to steadily rise. He stood several feet in front of Bowser. Bowser eyed Larry with arrogance, confident that he would beat Larry. After he did that, Bowser would probably imprison Larry and his siblings for life. Bowser took betrayal very seriously, and was not about to let the Koopalings get away for their treacherous actions. In order to do that, Bowser would have to track down the other five Koopalings. _This'll be easy! It's not like I put much effort into finding Lemmy and Larry! Plus, the fact that they were unconscious was just a bonus! Is it my lucky day or what?_ Bowser thought as he looked down at Larry.

Larry then sprung into action. Immediately, he jumped high into the air. _Here we go with this again_ , Bowser thought to himself in annoyance. Larry blasted a light blue blast of magic down at Bowser. He then enhanced it, and it began to crash upon Bowser at a blinding speed. Bowser didn't have time to avoid it, so he was forced to use his limbs to ease the possible damage as much as possible. The magic hurt quite a bit, but Bowser didn't find himself yelling out in pain. The magic blast terrorized Bowser for several seconds, and each of those seconds were spent writhing silently in pain. Then, it was over. Bowser lowered his arms, and raised his head. Larry just happened to be descending as this same time. He kicked Bowser across the face as soon as Bowser lowered his arms. Bowser retaliated by throwing a punch at Larry. Larry evaded the punch, and spun into Bowser like a top. Bowser was actually knocked a decent distance away. He landed on his plated stomach. He gradually began to build up the energy to get up. Upon getting onto his feet, Larry spun into him once again, but Bowser had his guard raised. Bowser was still knocked a few feet back.

Preparing himself for Larry meant that Bowser wouldn't notice any other occurrences. By this time, Lemmy had recovered from Bowser's previous blow. Lemmy had escaped from Bowser's line of sight, and was watching him from a location that was unknown to Bowser. The latter, however, still hadn't noticed, as he was still busy fending off Larry. Bowser lowered his arms once again, and proceeded to grin evilly at Larry. Larry countered Bowser's devious look with a devilish smirk. At the same time, they both sent flames towards the other. Bowser's flames, of course, were larger, so Larry had to quickly escape from the path of Bowser's flames. Larry then began to run around Bowser quickly, while appearing to be studying him.

 _He's trying to catch me off guard. Predictable_ , Bowser thought nonchalantly as he stood still, not even bothering to pay attention to the youngest Koopaling. Soon, Larry had converted to his top form, and he was spinning rapidly around Bowser, in circles. He wasn't attacking, but he _was_ making a lot of dust form around Bowser. This dust was beginning to dull his vision while inside of Larry's devious, deadly circle. A clear smoke screen! Bowser soon figured it out for himself. He began to watch Larry intently for fifteen minutes. Larry had been spinning like this for such a long period of time, you would think he would be tired. Bowser soon tired of Larry's constant spinning, and sat down in the middle of Larry's circle. Bowser failed to notice a large change in the dust. He was knocked into the air by something that was large and rubbery.

Bowser landed on the ground in a pile of debris he had caused earlier. He stood up, and gazed at the thing that had just attacked him. Lemmy stood atop a _huge_ circus ball that occupied a great deal of the arena's area. He was moving his legs at a steady pace to maintain his balance, although he was doing it with such grace that he probably didn't even need to worry about something like that. Bowser stood with his mouth agape as Lemmy rolled towards him. Bowser dashed forwards, and tried to pop the ball with brute force. His fist was reflected, and he punched himself in the face. Bowser crashed down to one of his knees, and gazed upward at Lemmy. Bowser then became angry. He leapt into the air, and spat flames at the ball. Lemmy quickly leapt off it, and it immediately burst, revealing a mountain of ignited bombs. Lemmy ran over to where Larry was, and dove to the ground with him. Bowser couldn't react, as he was too shocked.

Bowser was blown into the air. The sound of all those bombs going off had made him momentarily deaf, so all he could do was watch, dazed, as various piles of debris began to form all around him. He was beginning to near the ceiling. By the time Bowser finally came to his senses, he had hit his head on the ceiling. He fell back down to the ground, and laid on his stomach in pain. His eyes were closed, and his breathing rate was steady. Lemmy and Larry looked at each other, and smiled triumphantly. The two brothers began to walk over to the Koopa King. As they got closer, Bowser didn't stir in the slightest. They looked at each other, and shurgged. Lemmy then proudly placed his right foot on Bowser's head, while Larry set his left foot on Bowser's head, with the same emotion. Still, Bowser didn't move, so Lemmy and Larry decided to leave him here.

"I guess it wasn't such a smart move to take on two of us by yourself, _huh_? We stand successfully while you lay on the ground, defeated. Perhaps you're not as much of a tough guy as you think," Lemmy mocked Bowser.

"Now that we've won, we can go, right? Fighting Bowser here just _sidetracked_ us. For all we know, the others are all united by now," Larry said to Lemmy.

"Yeah, you're right. We _should_ go. We wouldn't want to waste anymore time than we already have," Lemmy answered. "Let's move out!"

"Right behind you, Big-little brother!" Larry agreed with his older brother.

Lemmy and Larry turned around simultaneously. They then began to run towards the corridor that Bowser had emerged from. They had predicted that this was an exit as well as an entrance, so they had decided to go through here. The corridor was very long and dark. The walls were a strict black that would have made Ludwig's dark-blue hair seem light. This area was almost impossible to see through, if it had not been for Lemmy and Larry's magic wands.

The two of them summoned their magic wands. Lemmy wielded the green magic wand. It was the color of emeralds, and illuminated to a bright, wonderful green when active. Due to his magic prowess, Lemmy could do a myriad of seemingly-impossible tasks with his magic wand. Although it was exceedingly powerful, it did have some limits. For example, the Koopalings' magic wands wouldn't have been able to break through the magic spell of their previous cage, even if they were to try for several years. Larry's magic wand was the orange one. He had utilized it thousands of times in his life, and he was doing this once again. As a multipurpose tool, the magic wand's uses were repeated over and over again. Even the Koopalings that liked using brute strength, Roy and Morton, liked to use magic a lot.

Coming to a large door at the end of the corridor, Lemmy and Larry opened it. They then found themselves in a brightly lit hallway. There was a long red carpet in the middle of the floor. The carpet was surrounded by a stone floor on all sides. There were several pictures of all the members of the castle's owner, and there were pictures of King Koopa's children as well. All seven of King Koopa's children had their own various portraits on the wall. Lemmy and Larry frowned with hatred as they immediately spotted the Koopa twins, Hip and Hop, who had recently captured them. Though the twins weren't physically stronger than any of the Koopalings, their magic wands made of for their lack of power. It was their magic that had kept the Koopalings ensnared. The last place any of the Koopalings had seen these twins was underground. Temporarily eliminating their thoughts of intense hatred, Lemmy and Larry spotted the older members of the Koopa Family. They wondered what these Koopas could do. They then moved on and continued walking down the hallway. At the end of the hallway, they found a set of double doors. They nodded at each other, and opened the door slowly. When they saw no one inside, they silently slipped into the room.

The room they found themselves in seemed to be a Throne Room of some sorts. The floor was checkered with black and white floor tiles, and the walls were true stone. This stone, however, had a slightly blueish hue. There was yet _another_ large, red carpet that laid on the floor, and up the checkered stairs to meet a seat. This was no order seat. This was a throne! Lemmy and Larry had stumbled upon King Koopa's Throne Room. Glancing back and forth at each other, the two brothers were unsure of what to do. Should they destroy the place now, or should they report the information to Ludwig for a future use? Any other thoughts they had were interrupted when Larry quickly dashed up the stairs and hopped onto the throne. Larry wriggled around slightly, trying to get comfortable before he settled down. Eventually, he sat completely still. Larry gazed down at Lemmy. He summoned his magic wand, and pointed it at Lemmy.

"How dare you disturb me, you peasant! I was clearly busy with relaxing on my throne, doing absolutely nothing, when _you_ show up! Such disobedience of my monarchy is unacceptable! I shall have you beheaded for your treachery to my laws!" Larry joked, acting like a cruel absolute monarch.

"Please, your Majesty! I have a reason to be here! Please don't have me killed! I'm here because I don't think it's fair how I'm not even given food every two days! I have to literally go in the street and began people for food! All I'm saying is why can't we have food?" Lemmy joked, speaking in his best seventeenth-century English accent.

"I don't _care_! You should know the rules and procedures of this country! Only those who are born into wealth get somewhere in this country! _Everyone_ knows that! For those that are ignorant, this includes you, they suffer for the rest of their lives. There is no escaping this, so get out of my face!" Larry spat.

"Please, m'lord! This is all I'm asking of you! Please help me!"

"I've had enough of both your worthlessness _and_ your stupidity! Guards! Guards! I demand for him to be killed via guillotine! _Now_!" Larry shouted.

Lemmy then frantically pushed himself away from Larry, acting as if he was being dragged away. He waved his limbs around wildly as if he was lashing out on someone. He then laid perfectly still on his stomach, as if he was lifeless. After waiting for several seconds, Lemmy hopped to his feet. He walked up the stairs. He bowed before his younger brother.

"And _scene_."

Lemmy then walked towards Larry, and tried to sit beside him on the throne. He fit without a problem, as the throne was very large in order to hold someone as big as King Koopa. He then bounced several times in the seat, and smiled with amusement. Larry took note of this and laughed. He put his arm on the throne's right armrest.

"It's awesome, right? I'm just kidding. I _know_ it is. I never thought throne's were this comfortable. I have to install one in my room when we get back home," Larry said to himself.

"Me too," Lemmy agreed.

Lemmy then jumped off the seat, and stood on the floor near Larry. Larry jumped off the throne and stood across from Lemmy. They walked down the stairs, and sat on the bottom stair. They were about to discuss what to do when the doors suddenly were pushed forwards. In a blink of an eye, Lemmy and Larry vanished. They hid behind one of the large, heavy columns that held the ceiling in place. Lemmy and Larry stood silently, getting into the state of observation. They then heard footsteps come into the room, and stood absolutely still. The footsteps began to walk down the carpet, but stopped near the center of the room.

Larry looked curiously at Lemmy for his older brother's approval for something. Lemmy nodded his head, although sign that meant yes. Silently, Larry peeked around the smooth corner of the column to see who had entered the room. Upon seeing his unexpected visitors, Larry's pupils shrank in nervousness.

Bully, Cheatsy, their sister, and their darker-skinned brother stood in the middle of the room. They appeared to be investigating the room for something. Whatever this thing must have been, if was enough to concern more than half of King Koopa's children. Bully walked to another area of the room, a place that was parallel to where Lemmy and Larry were. He glanced around the room several times before giving up in defeat. Bully sank to the floor. He sat with his legs pointing away from his body, and he began to sigh.

"Man. I really thought it would be here. Afterall, it was the last place she was," Bully said, speaking to his younger siblings in disappointment.

"No, you idiot! Bully, your a _dolt_! This isn't necessarily the last place she's been. It's just the last place _we've_ seen her! If there's anything I know about Dad, he probably hid her somewhere else. I'm sure he's thought of every possible outcome, and doesn't want to take any risks."

It the first time any of the Koopalings had heard the lone girl of King Koopa's seven children speak. Larry almost grunted in annoyance at the sound of her whiny voice. It reminded him of Bowser Jr.'s. Larry wanted to run away and get as far from these guys as possible, but his conscious knew he needed to stay put.

"Oh. You really think that, Kootie Pie?" Bully questioned, gazing over to his sister.

"Of _course_. Dad hid that no good princess somewhere else in the castle, and probably doesn't plan on telling any of us where he's put them. It all makes sense," Kootie Pie responded.

"Whatever you say, _sis_ ," Cheatsy said, frowning at his little sister. He went over to his other brother, and put a false-friendly arm around him. "Now that Kootie Pie's put in her input, it only seems _fair_ that we get to hear what you think. Go ahead, Bigmouth! Give us your thoughts and opinions!"

The darker-toned sibling thought for a few seconds before speaking. "Well, if Kootie Pie's right about that princess being taken somewhere else, I doubt finding what we need to recover will even matter. You know how King Dad does things. First, he'll tell you to go do something for him! Then, he'll tell you you're worthless, and he'll try to do it himself. When that fails, he still blames you in the end. You'll get time in the dungeon or you'll just be grounded! I don't know which is worse! Actually, I sort of do because-," he rambled on.

Bigmouth's unnecessary rambling was cut short by Bully, who had leaped to his feet to whack his talkative brother. Cheatsy and Kootie Pie snickered as Bully attacked Bigmouth. "I don't care if you're not the right gender, they should have named you _Gabby_!"

"Even if he did sort of ramble on about nothing, he's right! What's the point in finding the crown if we won't even see that princess until Dad accomplishes his goal?" Kootie Pie questioned.

"Correction; There _is_ no point," Cheatsy replied. He then turned his back suspiciously and began to speak again. "Y'know, I went to visit Kooky earlier, and we found something astounding in the castle. You remember those Koopas we told you about a while ago? The ones that entered the castle uninvited to rescue that _princess_?"

"Yeah. What about them?" Bigmouth asked, saying as few words as possible to avoid being hit by Bully.

"The seven that the twins captured, and recently escaped, have escaped from their cell, thanks to _Bully_ here," Cheatsy said, causing Bully to look away while folding his arms. "Anyway, for the little brat that seemed to be the big guy's son, we don't know where _he_ is. For the father, though, we saw his unconscious body through one of the security cameras Kooky had placed throughout the castle. There seems to be someone in the castle who's done our job _for_ us. Do you think, just throwing speculations out here, that maybe those other seven Koopas might be to blame?"

"Nonsense! Those guys work for him, remember? He said so himself a few days ago! You remember, right? It was when we tried to rob the big guy," Bully responded.

"What if they had a fallout? The big guy didn't seem like the most cooperative person? Perhaps the seven of them became fed up with his demands and ways, so they left him," Cheatsy said.

"It's a possibility, I guess," Kootie Pie said.

"So then, what do you guys think Kooky's up to?" Bigmouth asked out of the blue.

"Don't know," Bully answered.

"No idea," Kootie Pie replied.

"Don't care," Cheatsy responded.

* * *

Kooky was currently tied to a chair in his _own_ laboratory. He was basically being held hostage, although there wasn't a ransom due to the fact that no one knew Kooky was tied up. His capturers were Roy and Morton. Kooky's laboratory just happened to be one of the rooms the two siblings came across as they were advancing away from their cage.

"Hey! I don't approve of being held captive! Let me go or you'll soon be sorry! With how ferocious my dad is, the two of you are gonna be begging for your lives soon!" Kooky yelled.

"Shut up, will ya? I don't wanna here any of your complaining while I'm here! If here so much as _one_ complaint from you, you're gonna be suffering," Morton yelled.

"Fine. But can I at _least_ ask why you robbed me of my laboratory? I was practically minding my own business, y'know," Kooky said.

"We took over your room so we could use it as an operation room," Morton replied.

"Yeah! Now that you're tied up, there's no one that knows about our base," Roy said. He jumped over to Morton and Kooky. He grinned mischievously at Kooky.

"Actually, we know too."

Roy, Morton, and Kooky's heads darted upwards to see Ludwig hanging facedown from the vent above Kooky's room. Ludwig let go of it, and dropped down to the floor. He stood with his arms crossed. Iggy then followed Ludwig, and landed to the side of them. Iggy waited for a second, expecting Wendy to appear on the other side. When she didn't, he looked up. Wendy then came crashing down and knocked Iggy to the ground. Wendy landed on Iggy's back, but her legs were too sore fro, the fall to stand. Wendy then turned around to face the others.

"Helloooooooo!" Wendy said, making dramatic gestures with her hands.

"Ludwig! Iggy! Wendy! You're safe! Thank goodness!" Morton shouted, rushing over to hug Ludwig tightly, much to the oldest Koopaling's chagrin.

"What's _he_ doing here?" Ludwig asked, pointing at the messy-haired Kooky. The latter frowned angrily at Ludwig, who stared back with the same intent.

"This is his room. We captured him, took his room, and made it our base," Roy explained.

"That's terrific! Now, all we gotta do is find Lemmy and Larry! I can't wait! I'm _so_ happy!" Iggy yelled loudly, shocking Wendy, who thought he wouldn't be able to be so loud with her on him.

"Does that one have an off switch?" Kooky asked, holding his head down in annoyance and dissapointment. He was beginning to tire of the Koopalings' presences, _already_.

"Unfortunately no," Wendy said.


	23. Deception

"Come on, Ludwig! _We've_ got so much we can do in this room, and you would rather spend it _reading_?" Roy exclaimed, turning to his brother.

"Actually, I _would_. I haven't gotten that far in the book, and I plan on finishing it by the end of the month," Ludwig responded, giving Roy an annoyed look. Ludwig then closed the book, and set it down beside him. "Alright Roy, what do _you_ suppose we do while we wait for the right moment to strike?"

Roy was sitting beside Ludwig on a stone table in Kooky's laboratory. Kooky sat at the center of the room, tied to a chair. Wendy was sitting on a long wooden bench, where she currently kept herself busy by fixing the position of her bow. Iggy sat in another chair on the opposite side of the room. Morton sat on a large, stone table that was likely used for experiments. Iggy was currently telling jokes to Morton, but upon hearing Ludwig and Roy's conversation, he spoke up.

"You don't remember what Kooky said, huh? He said that his siblings are currently in this castle's Throne Room, and that _our_ siblings are there as well," Iggy said.

"He didn't _tell_ us, Iggs. I had to take a look at the camera system he has running in his room. I looked through the cameras, and eventually I found the Throne Room. I spotted four Koopas that slightly resembled the seven of us, so I assumed they were some of Kooky's siblings. When I spotted Lemmy and Larry hiding, that was pure luck," Morton corrected Iggy.

"You did? I'm pretty certain one of us interrogated him a little while back," Iggy stated, now facing Morton. Morton shook his head side-to-side, much to Iggy's dismay.

"None of you have laid a finger on me since the second you tied me to this chair! It's a good thing you haven't. Otherwise, all of your faces would be scratched up," Kooky said, glaring at them. "I may not look like much, but just like a rat, I can be viscous when cornered. If you feel up to the challenge, why won't any of you challenge me?"

Roy sprung up from the table, and made a beeline for Kooky. He stopped right in front of Kooky, where he stood, looming ominously over the crazed genius. Kooky looked up at Bully without making a move. Roy brought his balled up fist back, and made it come towards Kooky's face at a very quick speed. Kooky blinked quickly. Roy's fist stopped right in front of his prisoner's face. Roy smirked. "You're not exactly in the position to be giving out threats. As of now, you're tied to a chair, meaning that any of us could kill you with ease," Roy said, gesturing to himself and his siblings.

"Shut up, you brainless moron. Quit wasting your time and _finish_ me already," Kooky said.

Roy's mouth curled into a sharp frown. He then looked down at Kooky. "Whatever you say," Roy said, conjuring his magic wand. He tossed it into the air, where it did several spins and twirls. Mid-air, it transformed into a handheld Bill Blaster. It fell quickly down towards Roy, who caught it and hoisted it over his left shoulder. He aimed it at Kooky. Kooky watched in silence as the handheld weapon began to glow inside. "Last chance," Roy said. "Either you take back what you said, or I'll blow your brains out."

Kooky smirked pointlessly at Roy. "Never in your life, you stupid brute. Fire away. I don't give a damn," Kooky said. "Just as a sidenote, my dad is going to exterminate you all once he hears of my death. Go on then. Fire away."

Iggy laughed as if he had lost his sanity. He then regained control from his sadistic side. "You _heard' em_ , Big Bro! Blow his brains out!"

"Just don't get anything on my shoes, or we might have some problems," Wendy warned Roy, showing him her fist in order to prove a point.

"You brat...you deserve to die _just_ as much as I do. I'm surprised your brothers can even put up with you _every_ single day. Just being around you for a few hours gives _me_ a headache," Kooky said, not caring about anything now that he was guaranteed to be killed in his own room.

Ludwig, Roy, Iggy, and Morton laughed heavily. Wendy have them all a glare that caused Ludwig, Roy, and Morton to stop laughing. Iggy fell to the ground because he was busting a gut. After he regained his senses, he asked Ludwig a question. "He's right. How _do_ we put up with Wendy?" Iggy asked Ludwig.

"The same way we deal with Larry," Ludwig replied, causing Wendy to stop frowning for a few seconds. She held her stomach tightly as she attempted to maintain her balance.

"I hope Larry's safe. I don't know if I could keep going if I were to loose him," Morton sadly stated, looking down at the ground. Ludwig walked over to him, and slapped him on the back.

"Don't forget about Lemmy."

"Yeah, him too," was Morton's reply.

"Alright guys, the time for reminiscing is over. We have to get back into action. Speaking of action, I'm sorry, Roy, but you're not gonna be hurting that little fuzzball anytime soon," Ludwig said.

"What do you mean?!" Roy demanded, whipping around to look his older brother in the eye. "This guy insulted me, remember. I simply _can't_ let that stand!" Roy yelled, beginning to walk towards Kooky once again.

Ludwig looked at his younger brother disapprovingly as the latter stomped away to avenge his pride. Ludwig grunted as Roy's disagreement and abrupt action. Ludwig then leapt towards him. Roy turned around quickly, but he wasn't swift enough. Ludwig tackled Roy. Roy tried to kick Ludwig off him, in a rage, but Ludwig remained on his younger brother, pinning him to the floor. Roy punched at Ludwig, but the older brother blocked both attempts, and punched Roy in the face. However, he managed to avoid having his shades broken. Roy flipped Ludwig over. The eldest Koopaling landed on his shell, and Roy jumped on him. Roy threw many punches at Ludwig, but Ludwig blocked these too, and threw a punch back. Roy dodged this punch, and grabbed Ludwig's arm. Ludwig glared at him, and threw another punch at Roy. Roy dodged this punch, and then bit Ludwig's arm. Ludwig threw his brother off of him. "What's _wrong_ with you? You don't _bite_ people."

Roy sat on the ground, holding his left hand to his face. "Well I just did. I don't see you doing anything _either_ ," Roy replied to Ludwig, infuriating the eldest Koopaling.

Ludwig and Roy stared menacingly at each other for several minutes. They both wore expressions that implied they were seething with rage. Morton watched them from the safety of his stone table. Iggy and Wendy stood side-by-side on the floor, waiting for either brother to make the next move. Kooky had watched the entire thing from his chair, and was amused.

"Thanks, you two. That was a brilliant show, but I'm waiting on you guys to kill each other. You've both come awfully close to accomplishing this task, but I'm afraid I need _more_. Ludwig, Roy, hurry up and kill each other. I need both of you to be dead before I make my move. The lanky one and the girl will likely end up fighting each other. That leaves me with the big guy," Kooky said, darting his eyes in the direction of Morton.

Wendy laughed suddenly, closing her eyes. Iggy turned his head to face her, in confusion. "You guys didn't see this coming. Even _Morton_ did, and he isn't a strategist! Kooky used the threat involving his dad to create a repercussion _Ludwig_ would want to avoid. As expected, Ludwig didn't share his reason for deciding to not have Kooky killed. This caused Roy to become angry, and he tried to go after Kooky. Then, Ludwig had to stop him by any means necessary. This included being forced to tackle Roy, which led to a fight. Kooky has been silently analyzing all of us from the second he _allowed_ himself to be captured. He's been manipulating us all in order to discover our personalities and weaknesses for his father's _research_!"

Kooky laughed crazily. "Look at _you_. I didn't think you could discover my plan. How'd you know?"

"I started catching on when chose to not take back what you said even after you discovered what Roy was capable of. Also, you've purposely made us change the subjects of our conversation," Wendy explained, putting her hands on her hips.

"Well, I guess it _was_ sort of weird when Kooky refused to back down even when he was clearly intimidated by Roy," Iggy agreed with his sister. He shrugged his shoulders. "Well tthen...good job, Wendy. You discovered Kooky's true intentions."

"Yeah, Wendy. Good job. I _totally_ didn't see _that_ coming," Morton said sarcastically, alarming Kooky.

"Hold on! You knew too?" Kooky asked. He nearly jumped out of his chair in alarm upon discovering that more than one of them had discovered his plan. His eyes nervously darted in the direction of Morton.

"Yeah. Can't you hear? Wendy literally just _said_ I knew before we all congratulated her on her accomplishment. Well, _most of us_ , I mean," Morton said, turning in the direction of Ludwig and Roy.

Kooky looked down at the floor. He laughed madly for quite some time before speaking. "Well, if I've been found out, there's no reason for me to stick around." Kooky then freed his right arm, and slashed the rope that held him hostage. He then dropped the rope with his left hand, and hopped out of the chair. "I plan to deliver the information to first my siblings in the Throne Room, and then my father. Please do not intervene, as deciding to get in my way is the worst choice you could make. My family needs to know of your information so we can beat you guys."

Ludwig took his eyes off Roy, and turned to face Kooky. "I'm afraid we can't let that happen. Siblings, prepare to recapture the prisoner. We must do anything in our power to make sure he doesn't get into contact with his siblings."

"That part is _already_ pretty obvious, Ludwig. We already know what's at stake," Morton said, leaping off the large, stone table.

Kooky jumped over to the door, and opened it. He faced the Koopalings, and gave them a demonic smile. "In that case, it looks like I gotta run," he said. Kooky then ran towards the door and shoved it open. He dashed outside and ran into the hallway, where he continued to run. The Koopalings quickly got into action. Iggy was the first to reach the door. He forced open, and dashed into the hallway. Roy and Morton were right behind him. With their combined strength, the two heavy Koopalings easily yanked the heavy, stone door off its hinges. They threw it to the floor, where it made several mounds of dust form. Wendy ran over the door as she followed Roy and Morton out of the room. Ludwig came bolting out of the door, his dark-blue hair waving actively as he dashed through the hallway. However, he came to a quick halt.

Kooky hadn't thought to check the security cameras before he made his escape. He wasn't prepared to make a short, sharp stop, and he ended crashing into Larry, who was knocked backwards into Lemmy, knocking him over. Kooky landed on the ground in a rough motion. The other five Koopalings just happened to be nearing in on Kooky as he sat, recovering from the collision. Also, _Kooky's_ six siblings happened to be approaching Lemmy and Larry from behind.

"Lemmy! Larry!" Ludwig, Roy, Iggy, Wendy, and Morton yelled, coming to an hault behind Kooky.

"Kooky!" Bully, Bigmouth, Cheatsy, Kootie Pie, Hop, and Hip yelled, stopping behind Lemmy and Larry.

Lemmy and Larry jumped over to join their siblings right as Kooky reunited with his. The two groups comprised of seven siblings each stared at each other in anger. Ludwig and Bully glared at each other.

"Charge!" Bully yelled.

"Attack!" Ludwig yelled.


	24. Clash of Clans

Ludwig darted around the room, easily evading all the magic blasts that were being fired from Kooky's magic wand. Apparently, Kooky had had his magic wand with him as well, but wasn't using it so he could aid his father. Now, he and Ludwig were fighting on the long hallway that led away from his personal laboratory, where he recently had been falsely kidnapped. Ludwig was one of his captors, and the latter thought _he_ should be the one to bring him down.

"Stop moving around like that! Just stand still and _die_!" Kooky exclaimed angrily, firing another magic blast from his magic wand, which missed the eldest Koopaling by several feet. Kooky then fired another magical blast at him, but it was evaded as well.

"Sorry, pal, but I don't particularly want to be eradicated," Ludwig replied.

Ludaig then rushed Kooky. He dropped down from the air, and began to charge at the third-oldest of King Koopa's seven children. Kooky saw this, and tried to kick at Ludwig. Ludwig leapt over Kooky's leg, and kicked him across the face. Kooky was sent to the carpet, where he glared up at the eldest Koopaling.

Kooky jumped up, and threw a punch at Ludwig. Ludwig caught Kooky's fist, and punched the latter in the stomach with his free hand. As Kooky gasped in pain as the wind left him, Ludwig kicked him again in the very same spot, which caused Kooky to yell again. Ludwig then did a backflip to land a few feet away as Kooky fired a magic blast at him. Ludwig spat a large fireball at it, and the attacks nullified each other. Kooky took this chance to leap through the smoke. He did so, and punched Ludwig in the stomach.

Ludwig was brought to his knees roughly. He sat on the ground, hunched over, as Kooky began to rapidly spin towards him in his shell form. The first blow sent Ludwig several feet backwards, and he was left rubbing his sore right jaw. Kooky then attacked from behind, sending Ludwig to his stomach. Kooky attempted to stand triumphantly on Ludwig's back in order to boast, but Ludwig rolled out of the way, and counterattacked with a blinding kick.

Kooky was sent into a large statue of the typical knight, and the statute toppled over. Kooky was left laying dazily amid the scattered pieces and bits of metal that surrounded him. He was dazed to the point where his vision became blurry. Upon hearing the sound of Ludwig's mocking laughter, he regained his senses.

"How _dare_ you mock the great, wonderful Kooky von Koopa! I shall have you sent to the dirtiest, most unpleasant dungeon once I'm finished with you!" Kooky yelled.

"Oh _no_. I've never heard _that_ one before," Ludwig sarcastically replied.

Kooky then threw his magic wand into the air. It illuminated brightly before transforming into a magical, enhanced crossbow. Kooky began to fire several magical arrows at Ludwig. The arrows were quick, so Ludwig had to stay on his feet. He somersaulted over one of the arrows, and landed on his hands. He then changed his direction and dashed at Kooky. He punched the crazed genius in the face.

Kooky quickly recovered from the attack, and responded by shooting at Ludwig with his crossbow. An arrow stuck into Ludwig's left shoulder, and the latter held it in pain. He glanced at Kooky, and closes his eyes. Ludwig stood up straight, and cleared his throat.

"This arrow...what are its special effects? I can't have any mishaps in my fight," Ludwig said.

"You should find out soon enough" was Kooky's cold-hearted response. The two of them then charged at each other, ready to finish their battle.

* * *

Roy caught Bully's fist. He then increased the pressure on it, causing Bully to make sounds of clear pain. Roy threw Bully onto his shell. Bully quickly got up, and punched Roy in the face. Roy was knocked several inches back, but still managed to kick Bully in the stomach, causing the latter to gasp in pain. They both jumped backwards in order to glare angrily at each other.

"Well then, it looks like we _finally_ get to settle what we started," Roy menacingly said. He clenched his fists together, and made a serious fighting stance.

"That's what it looks like, don't ya think? Anyways, the only thing that's gonna _settle in_ will be the scar that'll be on your ugly face when I'm done with you! Bring it on!" Bully roared. He set his legs apart, and bared his fists.

Bully ran at Roy. Upon reaching the third-oldest Koopaling, he punched him. As Roy was knocked back for a few seconds, Bully proceeded to slap him back and forth several times. Roy's spit went flying out the corners of his mouth with each powerful blow. Bully began laughing as the meaningless torment went on. During one blow in the duration of the onslaught, Roy caught Bully's arm. He threw his rival over his shoulder. Bully went flying in the air for several seconds before crashing down to the ground, where he proceeded to roll and bounce. Eventually, he collided with the wall, and fell to the ground shortly afterwards.

A few bricks came off the wall. They landed beside Bully. Bully got back into his feet, and picked up a brick. With immense force, he through it at Roy. The brick soared in a straight line through the air. It crashed into Roy's chest, and he was knocked onto his stomach. Grunting heavily, Roy gradually lifted himself. He saw the next brick the second he got up. It hit him on his pink head, and he held it in agony as he fell to his knees. He held his arms over his face in order to protect it. He then stood up. Roy felt the rough texture of each brick as it scraped against his skin, leaving a rough scratch. He felt several other bricks attempt to harm him, and he grunted under the force of each brick. They seemed to stop over time. Roy waited for several seconds with his arms protecting his face. However, it seemed like the bricks had stopped coming, as if Bully had ran out of them. Roy lowered his arms, and opened his eyes behind his shades. Bully ran towards him while charging up his fists in the process. Roy saw this, and smirked. As Bully neared Roy, the latter attempted to counterattack. Roy punched at Bully, but the latter leapt over him, and turned upside-down in the air. Roy turned his head upwards to see Bully. Bully kicked Roy in the face, and Roy was knocked to his stomach.

Roy stood once more, but Bully took that chance to sneak up on him. Bully jumped on Roy's back, and covered the latter's shades, making Roy unable to see. Roy thrashed around wildly, trying to strike Bully. Bully evaded all of Roy's irrational blows with somewhat of a difficult time. Bully began to punch him in the head several times. As this went on, Roy began to feel lightheaded. He staggered around for a little while, but elbowed Bully right as the latter thought he was triumphant. Bully landed on his shell, but flipped onto his stomach. He converted to his shell form. He spun at Roy. Roy easily leapt high in the air. Mid-air, he turned upside-down and performed a Ground Pound upon reaching the ground. Bully was paralyzed by the powerful shockwaves. He was still in his shell though. Roy took this time to send Bully flying with a powerful kick. Bully was sent spinning into the wall of the far hallway. He bounced off it, and hit Roy. The latter was knocked off his feet.

Bully got out of his shell, no longer paralyzed. He have Roy a haughty laugh, and folded his arms. "It looks like someone just got " _shell-lashed_ "," Bully taunted, glancing down at Roy.

"At least _I_ didn't get "shell- _shocked_ "," Roy responded, laughing. He stood to his feet. He faced Bully, and gave him a determined expression. "I'm done playing around now. Let's do this for _real_."

"I'm ready if _you_ are," Bully responded in his thick Brooklyn accent.

* * *

"It's only _fair_ to let you team up with your twin brother. I hope you know that, because otherwise, I would've already _obliterated_ you!" Iggy yelled loudly down at Hop. He then turned around and spanked his behind with his wand, making Hop mad. Iggy's face widened upon realizing his action angered Hop. "You mad bro? If so, come and _get me_!"

Iggy was currently standing on top of Lemmy's large circus ball that was yellow with orange stars. Lemmy was standing right beside him, and the two of them were staring down at Hip and Hop while smiling stupidly. The twins glared angrily up at them. They were holding their magic wands in their hands, ready to finish Lemmy and Iggy off, which they thought they should've done when they first met them.

"Stop taunting us before we get mad! You already know what happened the last time we got mad!" Hop yelled, baring his fangs at the two brothers. He pointed his magic wand at Iggy. "Y'know, _Twiggy_ , I should've killed your brother when I had the chance!"

"You're right, Hop. We didn't, and that brother is now fighting Bigmouth," Hip said to his older brother. He pointed in Morton's direction, and proceeded to gaze in an annoyed way at him. He turned to face his twin brother. "For now, let's just ice _these_ fools."

"Sounds good to me," Hop said. He fired a magic blast at Iggy, but the latter spat flames at him. The flames hit the magic blast, and the two attacks immediately disappeared upon impact. They nullified each other, but also created a smoke screen. Iggy jumped through the smoke, and whacked Hop on the head with his magic wand.

Hop gingerly rubbed his sore head, then responded by throwing _his_ magic wand at Iggy. It bounced off the latter before leaving a tiny sore on Iggy's face. Iggy quickly put a clawed finger to the wound, and smiled upon feeling it. His constant grin widened, and he stepped up to loom over King Koopa's second-youngest child.

"That tickled a little," Iggy said.

"What's gotten into _you_? You seem _off_...well, _more off_ , I should say. You weren't like this when we fought _earlier_ ," Hop said, curious about Iggy's current condition. He stared in a fascinated manner at Iggy, then regained his senses.

Hop lunged at Iggy with his claws out. He swung at Iggy, but the latter prevented his arm from coming into contact with Hop's claws. He grasped Hop's arm, and flipped him onto his shell. Hop leapt back into the air, and tried to punch Iggy. The latter evaded the attack with ease. Hop threw another punch, but it was evaded as well.

 _He's aiming at where I am, instead of where I'm going to be_ , Iggy thought to himself. _I have to remember these things. This guy's still a kid, so he isn't thinking ahead. That's good to know._

Iggy jumped away from Hop. He taunted him once again by smacking his rear end with his magic wand while laughing maniacally. Iggy squeezed his eyes shut as he laughed, exhilarated. He pointed at Hop while he laughed. Hop had been pushed to his limit.

He angrily ran after Iggy like a madman. Iggy quickly opened his eyes, and he began to run from Hop. He ran in the direction of the wall at a very fast pace. Hop was about three feet behind him, but with Iggy's hyperactive and exotic nature, that gap was soon going to be widened. Iggy neared the wall, and Hop began to smile.

 _The fool. What does he plan to now?_ Hop thought to himself.

Iggy ran up the wall, leaving Hop on the ground, dumbfounded. Iggy laughed wildly as he ran up the wall. Hop stared up at him in awe, trying to thing of a way to reach him. He began firing magical blasts at Iggy. While continuing on his latitudinal journey, Iggy dodged all of Hop's attacks. He reached the ceiling, but walked upside-down on it. Iggy glanced in _his_ upward direction to gaze down upon Hop.

"How are you gonna get me _now_?" Iggy taunted, grinning successfully.

An ordinary beach ball hit Iggy while he was upside-down. This caused him to lose his focus, and he plummeted to the ground. Iggy and Hop both looked to see Hip holding the beach ball on the floor. He placed it on the floor, and sat on it. "That was fair, right? It's two versus two," he said to them.

"Where _is_ Lemmy anyway?" Iggy asked, sitting up.

"Right _here_!" Lemmy then came rolling towards them on a gigantic circus ball he had conjured from his magic wand. He was nearing them at a quick pace, so Hip and Hop sprung up and ran is if they were on fire. Iggy couldn't move as quickly because he was sitting down. Lemmy's circus ball hit him, and he was knocked to the side. "Sorry, Iggy! Get me back later!"

Hip and Hop ran like mad as Lemmy's gigantic circus ball came rolling after them. Lemmy threw many bombs as he chased them, entertaining himself while he took care of them. To Lemmy, it was sort of like a big game.

* * *

Wendy summoned several of her large golden rings. She threw them all at Kootie Pie, who managed to deflect them with a personal magic spell of hers. Wendy avoided all of the rings by leaping through them, then she kicked Kootie Pie across the face.

Kootie Pie jumped a few inches backwards. She held her cheek, and glared at Wendy. "That hurt! I'm the most precious, beautiful girl in the world! For damaging my face, the punishment shall be _very_ severe!" Kootie Pie screamed at the top of her lungs.

"You're _really_ annoying. Being around _you_ is worse than spending a day locked in a room with Larry, Iggy, Roy, _and_ Lemmy! If you don't already know, my brothers are _really_ annoying. Now that you know this, please excuse me if I treat you in ways that seem suited for _them_ ," Wendy said.

"Stop talking about unimportant things! The only thing that matters right now is the fact that I plan to make you my _personal_ servant when this is all over," Kootie Pie replied to Wendy. She threw her magic wand into the air, and it quickly transformed into a miniature Fire Bro. Kootie Pie caught it, and began to use it as a flamethrower.

The flames made a beeline for Wendy, and the latter got into her shell, where she was safe. Her shell merely made a few sounds as the fire made contact with it. Wendy began to become slightly warm underneath the influence of the Fire Bro.'s fire. Several waves of flames passed over Wendy, but she didn't feel a thing. Wendy then started spinning towards Kootie Pie. King Koopa's only daughter leapt out of the way of Wendy, landing roughly on the floor. But, she hadn't thought everything through. Wendy bounced off the wall, and into her, sending Kootie Pie away from her.

Kootie Pie skidded across the floor following the blow. Upon recovering from the attack, she stood up and gazed at Wendy. She opened her mouth to speak.

"Using your shell is _soo_ cheap. Maybe you should fight me the way we were _intended_ to," Kootie Pie remarked, smirking at the only female Koopaling. "From this point on, you can't get in your shell. Sounds fair?" She folded her arms, and extended her smirk.

"Whatever...," Wendy said.

Kootie Pie ran towards Wendy, shooting more fire at her. Wendy fired more of her golden rings at Kootie Pie. Kootie Pie had been paying attention to Wendy's gratefulness. She jumped through all of the rings, and, with her magic wand, hit Wendy while the latter was still surprised. Wendy punched Kootie Pie with her left arm, and her opponent was stunned for a short period of time.

Another fierce wall of flames was avoided as Wendy counterattacked Kootie Pie by kicking her. Kootie Pie took zero time to recover. She grabbed Wendy's leg, causing the latter to trip. Wendy laid on her stomach. She gazed up angrily at Kootie Pie. "Personally, I think _tripping people_ is a cheap tactic in a fight," Wendy said, gradually rising to her feet.

"Too bad, so sad," Kootie Pie replied, grinning mischievously at Wendy.

Wendy grew angry. She dashed at Kootie Pie, and jabbed her in her plated stomach. Kootie Pie's eyes widened under the immense pressure of Wendy's attack. She then focused her eyes on Wendy, frowning demonically with intense hatred. She tried to punch Wendy in the stomach, but her fist was caught. With surprising strength, Wendy threw Kootie Pie into the air. Kootie Pie came down in about twenty seconds, and landed flat on her face, gasping for air. Wendy walked over to her. Kootie Pie glanced up at her, but their eyes didn't meet.

Wendy placed her hands on her hips, and gazed at Kootie Pie. "You seem to be getting dizzy. More and more of your attacks are missing. Fighting you like this is worse than that time Waluigi _claimed_ he could beat me in a fight. Perhaps you should try to fight me for _real_ in a few years," she boasted to Kootie Pie.

"Who's Waluigi?" Kootie Pie asked, gazing at Wendy in a curious manner.

"Waluigi is this cruel, arrogant, skinny human who has animosity toward everyone he knows. Well, except for his best, and only, pal, Wario," Wendy answered. "Getting back to what's important, I believe I am triumphant, so I'll be moving on then." Wendy then began to walk away, turning her back to Kootie Pie. "Something tells me you're not done yet, so I have a little gift for you."

Wendy then stopped walking. She clenched her hands together, and began to focus on a specific ability. Wendy seemed to glow for a certain amount of time. Kootie Pie looked on, too curious to do anything to stop whatever was happening. Tiny bolts of electricity began to form around Wendy, and it was then over. Three clones of Wendy stood behind her, facing Kootie Pie.

"You can make _clones_?" Kootie Pie questioned, opening her mouth in awe.

"Yep. As a bonus, they'll sort of be your _training partners_ for the rest of the time. The only way to beat them is to _destroy_ them," Wendy answered. She then turned to the three clones. "Alright then, go _get her_!"

He clones immediately surrounded Kootie Pie and began attacking her. Kootie Pie began to struggle under the strength of the three Wendy clones. They weren't as strong as Wendy, but there were still _three_ of them.

While Wendy stood on the sidelines, watching Kootie Pie attempt to fight off the clones, a Sledge Bro. crept up behind her. It raised its hammer high, and swung it downward. Wendy dodged out of its way, and attacked it with a magical blast. The Sledge Bro. was knocked into the air, and it soon came crashing down. It landed in its stomach, beaten.

"This is perfect. Now I have a seat," Wendy said, gazed triumphantly at the Sledge Bro.

She hopped onto its shell, and sat down. Wendy then continued to watch the "fight" between Kootie Pie and the Wendy clones.

* * *

"Are you just gonna keep dodging, or are you gonna fight back?" Morton asked Bigmouth.

Bigmouth gazed at Morton. "I dunno...I _do_ prefer to win, but that'll be difficult if _you_ keep swinging that big mallet around. Therefore, I shall continue to avoid your hits because it is _much_ more fun than simply attacking. See? You're getting angry because I won't stop moving! I find that to be _very_ funny! In fact, I'm a little proud! Maybe I should start _taunting_ you or someth-!"

Bigmouth's long, loud reply was cut short by a simple whack delivered by Morton's magical mallet. The powerful weapon knocked Bigmouth into the air, and the latter's shock was visible on his face as he was knocked off his feet.

"That was unfair! You cut off what I was saying! Now I've _forgotten_ what I was gonna say! This is just _great_! I hope you're happy with yourself! _Wait_ , no I don't car-!"

"SHUT UP!" Morton yelled. "It's just my _luck_ that I get out against the most annoying one! Even the twins, the _youngest_ two, are less annoying than _you_! Either fight me or surrender. I don't care anymore!"

Bigmouth glared at Morton with his large eyes. "That wasn't very _nice_. I think you're _funny_ , though, so I'll let it slide! _Your_ two choices, my good sir, are to either stand down or be killed! Either way, my dad's gonna give me a raise for it! Alright, pal, make your choice!" Bigmouth then pointed his magic wand at Morton. He bent his knees to stand in a fighting pose.

Morton pointed _his_ magic wand at Bigmouth. He then narrowed his eyes into a stern frown. "Y'know, I have a magic wand _too_. I thought you would've _known_ this by now," he said.

"Apparently not, ya loser!" Bigmouth shouted. He then stuck his tongue at Morton.

Morton jumped into the air, and landed right in front of Bigmouth. He picked him up with one hand, and threw him into the wall. Bigmouth slid down the wall slowly while Morton laughed on.

"Sorry, but I don't do _tongue taunts_ ," Morton cooly said. He folded his arms and watched on as Bigmouth slowly pulled himself up to his feet. The latter grunted as he gradually stood to his feet. Upon accomplishing this task, he glared at his enemy.

Bigmouth ran at Morton. Before reaching him he leapt into the air. While still in the air, he turned himself upside-down, and threw his magic wand at Morton. It bounced off Morton's head, and made an involuntary beeline _right_ for Bignouth. The latter gasped as his _own_ weapon came at him. The magic wand hit him in the head, and he landed back on the ground. He landed on his shell, and the wand landed _just_ outside of his left hand's range.

Rubbing the new sore spot on his head, Morton walked over to Bigmouth. When he reached his opponent, he stood over him, glancing at him disappointingly. Morton shook his head as Bigmouth glanced upwards at him.

"You hit _yourself_. I must admit, that takes talent. However, _that_ sort of talent isn't gonna help you beat _me_. As of now, your best bet is to not use your wand as a _melee weapon_ ," Morton said.

Bigmouth leapt to his feet, and Morton took a step back. "I could've ended you _right_ then, but I decided not to," Bigmouth said to Morton.

"Is that so?"

"Why don't you come and find out?"

* * *

Larry hopped around in the air, easily evading all of the magic blasts Cheatsy fired at him. _FWAP!_ One of them went flying right over Larry's impressive hairdo, and Larry sighed in relief upon realizing his entire mohawk was still intact. Another magic blast sailed over Larry's right arm, and it went into the wall. A minor explosion occurred, and the bricks came flying at Larry.

Using his magic wand, Larry created a light-blue magical barrier. The bricks were all reflected by the barrier, and they went in the direction of Cheatsy. The latter, held his arms over his face to prevent major damage. When he put his arms down, Larry kicked him across the face.

Cheatsy reacted by elbowing Larry in the chest, causing the youngest Koopaling to fall to his knees. Cheatsy then kicked Larry in the stomach. Larry gasped for air as the wind began to leave him, but he then spat fire at Cheatsy.

Cheatsy ran away quickly as the flames consumed him. He quickly conjured a magical water fountain, and leapt into it. The flames were immediately weakened to the point of being nonexistent. Cheatsy reached upwards to feel his hair, and smiled happily. Larry turned the water into magma, and Cheatsy leapt out in time.

"That was cheap! You ruined my _fountain_ , ya little pest!" Cheatsy yelled at Larry.

Larry fired a magical blast at the fountain, and it disappeared. He turned to face Cheatsy with an accomplished smile on his face. "We can't have a ruined battlefield, can we? Besides, your name is literally _Cheatsy_. I bet I can already _predict_ ypur tactics," Larry replied.

"How about _this_? I won't spawn any large structures _anymore_ ," Cheatsy suggested.

"Sounds good to me," Larry replied. "Just try to keep up." Larry then ran at him quickly. Larry kicked him in the stomach, and pushed him downwards. Cheatsy tried to trip Larry, but the latter saw this. Larry backflipped over Cheatsy's arm. He hit Cheatsy in the face with his tennis racket. Cheatsy was stunned by this, so Larry hit him again with the tennis racket.

Cheatsy recovered from this blow, and knocked Larry off his feet after getting into his shell. He rammed into Larry while the latter was on the ground. Larry rolled several feet away while Cheatsy ran after him like a madman. Larry fired a magical blast at Cheatsy as he was rolling. The blast sent Cheatsy into the wall. Cheatsy fell to all four limbs on the ground. A sole brick came off the wall and hit him on the head.

Larry laughed, and Cheatsy conjured a rope. He sent it in Larry's direction. Larry jumped over the rope with ease, but the rope magically wrapped around Larry's legs, and tightened. Larry fell to the ground, unable to move.

"There are various tricks under my sleeve. You just _proved_ how effective they are. Thanks, pal," Cheatsy said with a mischievous grin.

"You infused that rope with _magic_! That's just sinister! You're sinister!" Larry yelled.

Cheatsy walked over to Larry. He grinned approvingly down at him before untying him. Larry hopped away from him, and bared his tennis racket. Cheatsy took notice, and laughed in a mocking manner. He picked the rope up, and made it vanish. He gazed at Larry. "I _am_ , aren't I?" Cheatsy asked.


	25. King of Alternate-Dimensional Koopas

Bowser Jr. opened his eyes. He yawned briefly before becoming visibly alert. His eyes began to darted around the room, trying to determine where he was. This did not lead to a conclusion, so the Koopa prince decided to move. Grunting, he lifted himself off the ground. Bowser Jr. appeared to be in some sort of closet.

There was a mop that was leaning against the wall, and beside it leaned a large, wooden broom. A huge rake was laying in a messy heap on the floor. All of its extensions were laying in various ways around it, detached and chipped. Astonished for several moments, Bowser Jr. walked over to the broom. He tried to lift it, but it was too heavy, even with both of his hands going at their fullest. He gave up, and attempted to lift the mop. The dampness of the water was giving the mop more weight than it truly had, and Bowser Jr.'s arms soon became sore. This wasn't because he was weak, over course. It was because of what had happened the last time he was conscious.

* * *

He and his father, Bowser Koopa, Senior, had been walking underground, using their fiery breath to guide them on their journey. This was because of the lack of light they had expected from Ludwig, Roy, Wendy, and Larry, who had been trailing behind them, discussing their plans of treason. The four siblings had whispered in order to make as little noise as possible. Bowser and Bowser Jr. had just kept walking, completely oblivious to what some of their most trusted minions were discussing.

Eventually, the dimness had gotten bad to the point where even the royal Koopas' flames weren't working. To top that off, Bowser Jr. had been exhausted to the point where he couldn't breathe fire, as he was not the most experienced. Bowser's throat had become clogged thanks to all of the mysterious substances in the cavern, so his breathe went away.

Right when Bowser and Bowser Jr. had turned around to make a request to the Koopalings, the two of them had immediately noticed that the siblings were gone. Not only had the Koopalings disappeared, but they had taken their magic wands, their light source, with them. Bowser had yelled loudly in anger at the Koopalings' treachery.

"Junior...when I _find_ them, I'm gonna rough them up to the point where _they_ can't breathe fire anymore!" Bowser yelled, clenching his massive fists as tightly as he could. Bowser's eyes then changed shape. Bowser placed his hands over his head, and held the latter body part down. Bowser Jr. got closer to him, and could hear his father _sniffing_. "We're never gonna see Peach _again_...," Bowser began, turning away from his son. He knew it was a bad idea to show his son his empathetic side, so he avoided eye contact and covered the tears. "And it's all because of those damned _KOOPALINGS_!"

Bowser had then fallen on his stomach, covering his face. The heir to the Koopa Throne sighed passively as he watched his father sob on the ground. Giving a slight smile to no one in particular, Bowser Jr. had knelt down to sit at his father's side. Bowser's face had lifted as soon as he felt his son's hand on his shoulder. Bowser Jr. sadly looked into his father's eyes.

"Don't worry, Dad," Bowser Jr. stated. He replaced the sad expression for a brighter one, and smiled. "We'll see Peach again. I just _know_."

Bowser's body visibly reacted to the statement. Bowser's rhuemy eyes darted towards his son. Bowser Jr. nearly jumped at his father's visible flexibility. "Oh _yeah_?! _Do_ you now, Junior? Of _course_ you _DON'T_! You don't know _anything_ besides all the tricks and techniques _I've_ taught you! Without me, you wouldn't even _EXIST_ in the _first place_!"

Bowser's statement had visibly upset Bowser Jr. The younger Koopa looked sadly at the ground, water dripping from his cheeks. Bowser immediately felt remorse for his actions. He quickly reached for his son. " _Junior_! I'm sorry! I shouldn't have said-!"

"Dad...I'm not the same kid you tricked into believing your crush was his mother. I've matured since then. It might not be much, but I now have the skills to perform my _own_ plots. I say this, Father, because I want to thank you for teaching me everything you know. This is why I want to take over the Koopa Troop when you step down."

"Hearing you say that cheers me up a little, but it still doesn't hide the realization."

"Dad, what are you talking about?" Bowser Jr. had asked.

"I'm talking about the fact that I'm a terrible father, Junior! I've put my interests and goals before my own son! You always end up having to face two _grown_ _men_ that I'm not strong enough to defeat! My ambitions always lead to you getting hurt in _some_ way!" Bowser had then paused. He had put his hands over his face in order to cover his eyes, which by now were glistening with moisture. "I first met those two _pests_ when I was still a baby. This was back when the true leader of the Koopa Troop was _Kamek_! At this time, the Koopa Troop was nothing more than a few collections of Goombas, Koopa Troopas, and Shy Guys. Anyways, Kamek kidnapped Luigi and brought him back to the castle. Mario, as a baby, had landed on Yoshi, who then proceeded to help him get Luigi back. For our fight, Kamek transformed me into a _huge_ version of myself...,"

 _Never heard that one before_ , Bowser Jr. thought sarcastically.

"Even as a giant fighting a dinosaur and a raisin-brained baby, I lost. This turned into an intense hatred between him and I. We've battled for _decades_!" The mood there had then intensified. "And now, I put my son, my own flesh and blood, into the fight. Do you see it now, Junior? I'm a _failure_ as a father," Bowser had said.

"No you're not, Dad. You've accomplished _many_ great things, and I plan to do the same once I grow up!" Bowser Jr. had yelled.

Bowser's eyes were filled with both pride and remorse. He had turned away from his son, trying to think of what to say. Bowser Jr. had done the same, sitting with his shell to his father's. Bowser had then thought of what to say. "Look, Son. I know you may have different thoughts of people. By that, I mean less intense hatreds."

"Dad, I just _believe_ we can make it out of here. The _Koopalings_ did, and you're stronger than all of them _put together_ ," Bowser Jr. had said, attempting to raise his father's spirits.

"You really think so?" Bowser asked, still not facing his son.

"Well, _yeah_!" Bowser Jr. had exclaimed. He had then walked over to his father. He extended his arm towards him. Bowser looked at his son with newfound respect. "C'mon, Dad. We've got a _princess_ to find!"

* * *

Bowser Jr. had been separated from his father for quite some time now. He wished to reunite with him, but the latter was nowhere in sight. The two had parted waves when they came across two pathways underground. Bowser had trusted Bowser Jr., so he had told his son to go one way while he went the other. Unbeknownst to Bowser Jr., Bowser had been placed in captivity since his fight with Lemmy and Larry.

 _Well, then. Sitting around isn't gonna get me anywhere. I should probably go find Dad, and the Koopalings too_ , Bowser Jr. thought. He then walked over to the closet door. He pushed it open, and walked outside. He glanced down both ends of the stone hallway, and saw nothing. He glanced upwards, and saw a large chandelier hanging above him. _Don't people usually put those in important rooms?_

Bowser Jr. then shurugged, and started to walk down the right hallway. He traveled at a steady pace, just moving enough to the point where his ponytail slightly waved to the left, and then to the right. The floor was checkered with tiles that were of the colors gray, and dark gray. The walls held various emblems and insignias. Coming to the end of the hallway, Bowser Jr. spotted a large green door.

He opened it, and saw a large room. It seemed to resemble a living room, as there was a couch and a T.V. in the room. Bowser Jr. looked around around for quite some time before leaping onto the couch. _T.V. first, Dad and the Koopalings_ later, he lazily thought. Bowser Jr. laid there, lazily viewing what was currently on the T.V. station.

"Hip? Hop? Is that you?"

Bowser Jr. froze, trying to maintain a steady heart rate. He made no sound except for the tiny sound he made when he both inhaled and exhaled. The owner of the voice appeared to be growing agitated as his question was unanswered. Bowser Jr. had a rustling sound, and his eyes nearly leapt out of their sockets when he heard the sound of reptilian feet slapping the floor.

The sounds stopped just seven feet from where Bowser Jr. laid. The Koopa prince listened breathlessly as the person's breathing seemed to pick up. The mysterious person emitted a sound that appeared to be them yawning.

"Or is that _you_ , Cheatsy?" The mysterious person's voice had a hint of scorn in it, as if the person had some sort of negative history with Cheatsy. The person sighed again. It was a heavy exhale of air that made Bowser Jr. regret making the decision of procrastinating on a _rescue mission_.

"If it is you, you better come out now. I've getting _tired_ of all your little pranks and jokes. Just because I gave you your allowance, you assume I can't take it away."

Bowser Jr. refused to move once again, and the person stomped their foot on the floor. Using his peripheral vision, Bowser Jr. could see a large, green fist being waved into the air. "I'm _not_ kidding, Cheatsy. Come out and show yourself, if you're _man_ enough to do so, that is. I will ground you as well if you don't come out quickly enough, so time is of the essence," the mysterious person said.

"Alright, _that's_ it!" the person yelled. They then walked steadily towards the couch. Bowser Jr.'s muscles stiffened. Although he knew he could outrun the person due to their large footsteps, how would he fare against the person in an actual _fight_? Bowser Jr. didn't want to find out. The person reached the fpur-feett marking, and continued to walk. Bowser Jr. need to be ready. "Three-feet marking...two-feet marking...one-foot marking. The second the person reached the left side of the couch, Bowser Jr. was already quietly crawling up the stairs. As the person continued to search, dumbfounded, Bowser Jr.'s pace quickened into a silent sprint. The second the person redirected his attention, to the stairs, Bowser Jr. was already around the corner. However, the person had heard his footsteps.

"Hey! Get back here, you coward!" the person yelled.

The person neared the stairs, and ran up them as quickly as he could. Bowser Jr. was running down the carpeted hallway when he heard the person reach the top of the stairs. The person took a breather for a few seconds before resuming the chase. He had lost sight of Bowser Jr., but he still knew he was in the general area.

Bowser Jr. knew this too, so he needed somewhere to hide. Glancing around, he saw that the hallway was filled with quite a few doors. He decided that he could hide in one of these rooms and wait until the person left. Bowser Jr. then bolted towards a door, punched it open. He then closed it quickly. Bowser Jr. inhaled and exhaled several times while leaning against the door.

"Bowser Jr.? What are _you_ doing here?"

Bowser Jr. quickly turned his head to see Princess Peach standing in a large cage next to a large bed. Her facial expression showed that she was very tired and stressed out. She also showed that Bowser Jr.'s arrival greatly surprised her.

"Well...my Dad, the Koopalings, and I came here to rescue you, I guess," Bowser Jr. said, rubbing his shoulder. "Although, it feels weird to be _rescuing_ someone. Usually, I'm the _capturer_."

"Yeah, yeah, don't remind me," Peach said, ending that part of the conversation. Bowser Jr. then turned to face her in order to "apologize", but instead noticed various bruises and burns that were littered across her face and dress. His eyes widened in shock as the Princess looked out him with a semi-friendly grin.

"What _happened_ to you?" Bowser Jr. asked, pointing at her face.

Peach frowned again this action. "Um, Bowser Jr., pointing at people like that is considered _rude_. Especially to someone like me. I'm someone who treasures formalities," Peach said, holding her left arm over her chest.

"Sorry, Peach, but manners ain't exactly my specialty," Bowser Jr. replied.

"Ugghhh, you're _forgiven_ ," Peach responded. She then turned her head, and Bowser Jr. saw a large scratch on her neck. Bowser Jr.'s eyes widened once again. "If you're wondering what these scars are, just know that they're punishment for whenever I refuse to give _King Koopa_ what he wants."

Bowser Jr. gasped. "Wait, you don't mean-."

Peach nodded. She then sighed. "Yep. A kiss."

Bowser Jr. breathed a sigh of relief. One day in the past, Bowser had dropped Bowser Jr. off at the Koopalings' house while _he_ went off with King Boo and Petey Piranha to "take care of business". That day, nothing fairly interesting happened. At least, that was what Bowser Jr. thought. That day, he, Lemmy, and Larry had spent the entire afternoon watching movies and eating popcorn. At four o'clock that afternoon, Ludwig came down the stairs. Since no one _else_ was going to, Ludwig had decided it was time to talk to Larry about something. Ludwig signaled to Larry, and began to slowly walk up the stairs. Bowser Jr. excused himself from Lemmy's movie spree. Lemmy had said it was alright, then got into a gaming marathon with Iggy. Bowser Jr. waited until Ludwig and Larry went into Larry's room. By the time the two brothers exited the room, Larry's pupils had shrank. Ludwig walked back downstairs, while Larry stayed upstairs. Bowser Jr. walked out from behind Larry's door. He had the same expression as Larry.

The door to the room opened, and King Koopa entered. Bowser Jr. jumped backwards. Due to his amateur status when it came to breathing fire, he still didn't have the spark needed to melt Peach's cage. Both he and Peach stared at King Koopa as the latter stared at them.


	26. Pride of the Koopa Prince

King Koopa yawned loudly as he took a casual step towards Bowser Jr. The latter looked up at him in a very cautious manner. Peach gasped in fear as King Koopa's eye landed on her. The villain walked past Browser Jr., ignoring him, and walked up to Peach's cage. He put his arm through the bars, and reached for her. Peach slapped his green arm away, and King Koopa laughed.

"It appears that you _still_ haven't learned your lesson. What a shame," King Koopa said, shaking in pity.

He jumped onto his bed, and laid back on a mound of pillows. King Koopa turned his head so he could glance thoughtfully at Peach. Both Peach and Bowser Jr. gulped as the this dimension's King of Koopas continued to think. At last, the repulsive reptile slammed his fist down to the bed cover. His eyes then began to pierce Peach's.

"Y'know, _Princess_ , if you're not gonna follow my orders, even if I have to threaten you, I don't see a reason to keep you alive," King Koopa said. He then paused, giving Peach the necessary time needed to gasp in shock. He then continued. "If I wanted to, I could kill you. You seem fairly young, so you still have a lot of life to live. However, I may consider _ending_ that life if things keep progressing like _this_."

Upon hearing this, an immense flow of fear began to spread throughout Peach's body. She gripped the bars of the cage as she yelled. "You villainous _fiend_! You can't just kill people if they don't do what you want! That's just _evil_!"

King Koopa then shrugged off this comment. He rolled his eyes at the Princess's comment. He yawned once again, and sighed underneath his cover for his T.V.'s remote. He turned it on, and scratched his plated stomach. His sight then left the infuriated glaring of Peach's eyes, and he turned his attention to his T.V. Bowser Jr. had been completely frozen since King Koopa had entered the room, and found his body stiffening.

 _Standing still like this hurts s lot, but it looks like it's the only thing keeping this moron from acknowledging my presence. The sooner I move, the sooner I die. It's a good thing he didn't try to harm Peach, I don't what I would've done. What what Dad do?_ Bowser Jr. thought to himself, quietly scratching his head. _Wait, what am I thinking about? I already know the answer to that. Dad would've already trashed this guy if he was here. I'm completely useless without him._

Peach noticed Bowser Jr.'s tense nerves, and she tried to soothe them. Peach began to sing to herself. It was a warm, sweet melody that caused Bowser Jr. to calm down. That was just the positive effect. The sound of her singing also caused King Koopa to punch at his headboard, creating a loud, ringing sound. He turned his head to face Peach.

"Shut up! Can't you see I'm watching _T.V._ here?!" King Koopa roared, narrowing his eyes in anger. He then covered his eyes with his hand. "God, I _knew_ I shouldn't have sent them after a blind girl. What was I _thinking_?"

Peach waited until the last sentence was a thing of the past. She began to sing once again, and Bowser Jr.'s eyes widened in fear. King Koopa began to rise from his bed. When he finally sat up, he stood up, and walked over to Peach's cage. He gripped two of the bars, and pulled his head as close as he could to Peach.

"Didn't you hear me the first time?! I said **_shut up_**!" King Koopa roared, grasping the cage with tremendous strength. He began to shake it back and forth. Peach began to loose her balance. She fell to the floor of the cage. King Koopa tilted the cage so that Peach would slide to him. "Listen here, _Princess._ You are going to _shut up_ this _instant_! If you don't, I'll-!"

"You'll what? Kill me?" Peach interrupted, giving King Koopa a false grin.

King Koopa got in Peach's cage, and gave her a demonic death stare. Peach got in his face, and glared at him. The two royal rulers had a stalemate. Neither one of them made a move, but they continued to glare at each other.

 _This is just great_ , Bowser Jr. sulked to himself. _Even the Princess has more guys then I do. When Dad finds out about this, he isn't gonna be happy. Unless I do something that will make him proud._

Bowser Jr. then wore a bold expression. He raised his mask so that is covered his mouth. He summoned his magic paint brush, and fired a blast of paint at the beverage that sat on the table beside King Koopa's bed. The liquid was immediately contaminated by the paint, and it dissolved its holder. The liquid landed on the carpeted floor, and dissolved the carpet where it had landed, barely missing King Koopa's foot. Peach and King Koopa quickly turned their heads around in surprise.

"Leave the woman _alone_ ," Bowser Jr. said, wielding his magic paint brush.

King Koopa snarled at him, and prepared to fight. Then, his bedroom door opened. Bowser Jr., Peach, and King Koopa turned around to see Lemmy, Iggy, and Morton standing in the doorway.

"What are _you_ traitors doing here?!" Bowser Jr. raged at Lemmy, Iggy, and Morton.

"Well, the seven of us have thought about it at every possible angle, but we don't believe we could leave without you and your father claiming revenge. Therefore, we decided we would rejoin your group," Lemmy explained, apparently unfazed by the Koopa prince's previous statement.

"Actually, we didn't expect to find you here," Morton added.

"Come on! Let's nab Peach, find Bowser, and get out of here! I'm _starving_!" Iggy yelled. He shot a fireball at Peach's cage, and one of the bars melted. Peach stepped through, and stood in between King Koopa, Bowser Jr., and the three brothers.

Peach looked back and forth between both groups before sighing. The jumped into the air, and landed behind Lemmy and Morton. Iggy then regarded King Koopa as an unimportant person, then proceeded to walk towards the door. Peach, Lemmy, and Morton turned their backs to King Koopa, then walked out the door, and Iggy followed them.

King Koopa was furious. He ran into the hallway, and waved his fist at Peach, Lemmy, Iggy, and Morton. "Get back here with that girl, you thieves!" he yelled, narrowing his eyes in anger.

"You stole her first. We're just stealing her back," Lemmy replied.

"Yeah. Later, gator," Morton said, waving his hand at King Koopa.

King Koopa summoned his magic wand. He pointed it at the four of them, and stood menacingly. Peach, Lemmy, Iggy, and Morton stared back, seemingly unamused at the empty threat. Morton casually conjured his magic mallet, and made it rest on his shoulder. Lemmy summoned one of his personal bombs, and held it in his left hand. Iggy just gazed at King Koopa, and Peach stood behind them, folding her arms while smirking.

Bowser Jr. used his magic paint brush to knock King Koopa's magic wand away. King Koopa's eyes widened as he stared at King Koopa, his mouth agape. Bowser Jr. smirked hastily before twirling in a circle, then pointed his magic paint brush straight at King Koopa's stomach.

"You guys go ahead. I'll handle _him_ ," Bowser Jr. tried to assure them.

Lemmy, Iggy, and Morton then began to walk away. They turned their shells to the other two reptiles, and began the walk required to rejoin their siblings. King Koopa frowned at this action. He grabbed his magic wand once again, and fired a magic blast at the three siblings. Morton turned his shell to the blast, and it was reflected. It hit the ceiling and caused a mountain of rubble to form between them and the others. Lemmy, Iggy, and Morton were on one side while Bowser Jr., Peach, and King Koopa were on the other.

* * *

"You found him _and_ Peach?" Larry asked, sitting beside Ludwig.

"Yeah. We found that _fool_ too," Morton responded.

"Who?" Ludwig asked.

"King Koopa."

Ludwig, Roy, Wendy, and Larry were all visibly shocked. They sat where they were, their mouths wide open in shock. The seven siblings were in a large room Ludwig, Roy, Wendy, and Larry had found while Lemmy, Iggy, and Morton went off after finishing their fights. Roy had stacked several chairs and tables against the door so that it could not be opened. Now, the seven Koopalings were planning their next move.

"Bowser Jr. told us he would take care of King Koopa by himself, but we had to leave Peach behind when King Koopa formed a wall in front of us. We couldn't get past it, so we just left," Lemmy said.

"He sounds like he has a real attraction to Peach," Roy said, sitting on the ground.

"Getting away from _that_ , what are we gonna do? We know where Bowser Jr. and Peach are, but we still don't know where Bowser is. Like you said, Ludwig, we're not going anyway until we find _him_!" Larry exclaimed, hopping onto his feet with energy.

"We might as well call him _Master_ Bowser, now that we're working for him and all," Wendy sulked.

"Don't think about it like _that_ , little sis. Be positive. At least we don't have to worry about Bowser trying to hurt us anymore," Iggy tried to stay optimistic. He then walked over to Wendy, and knelt down. He patted her on the head. "Just stay positive, and we'll figure it out."

"Thanks for thing to comfort me, Iggs, but don't you _ever_ pet me again. If you decide to do it again, we both know what's gonna happen," Wendy warned him, grinning evilly.

"Chill out, you two. We've gotta focus if we wanna get _out_ of here!" Roy yelled, bonking both of them on the head. He then sat in between them, ready to break up any future fights. Iggy lunged at him, and Roy held him back with his left hand. "Ludwig, you now have the spotlight."

"Thanks, Roy. Anyways, it'll take _all_ of us to get out of here. We're all _extremely_ talented, so that shouldn't be that much of a problem. Even for Larry" Ludwig joked, putting a playful arm around Larry. Larry glared at him, then Ludwig got back to action. "For one thing, we should all stick together. No more groups!"

"I like that!" Lemmy exclaimed, hopping from side to side.

Morton then turned to Ludwig. "What about _this_? Roy and I stay in the back of the group because we're the real muscle, you and Wendy stay in the middle as our defence, while Lemmy, Iggy, and Larry are our speed demons?" Morton questioned, folding his arms.

"Even _better_!" Lemmy yelled, jumping onto Morton's shell.

"What about Bowser? We can't forget about _him_ ," Wendy added, pinned by Roy.

"I'll just use Kooky's cameras to _find' em!_ It shouldn't be that difficult!" Iggy yelled. "It won't take any time _either,_ especially with how fast _I_ run. In fact, I think I'll go _now_."

"We literally _just_ discussed the idea of sticking together for my plan," Ludwig sternly said to Iggy, narrowing his eyes at his younger brother.

"I thought we were doing _my_ plan," Morton said, standing to his feet. He glared at Ludwig, then jumped over to him, landing with a tiny _THUD!_ Larry knew things were about to get serious, so he went to sit down beside Lemmy, who welcomed his youngest brother with a friendly smile. Roy let go of Wendy, and turned his attention to Ludwig and Morton. He then heard Iggy and Wendy making threats again, so he yanked Iggy onto the latter's stomach. Roy then sat on Iggy, causing the latter to become trapped underneath his older brother's weight. Wendy laughed and teased Iggy.

"Roy. Let Iggy go. I want him to find Bowser," Ludwig commanded.

Roy obeyed. He got up, and watched as Iggy gradually pulled himself to his feet, groaning heavily. Iggy's lanky body had suffered greatly beneath the large, bulky body if his older brother, Roy. The latter laughed in an exhilarated manner as Iggy glared at him.

"Can I go too? I don't wanna stick around. Plus, Iggy could use some help," Larry pleaded.

"I don't need any h-!" Iggy's sentence was cut short when he looked over and saw Larry on his knees, begging him to take him along. Ludwig nodded, and Iggy sighed heavily. Roy moved all of the obstacles out of the way, allowing Iggy and Larry to leave the room.

* * *

"You might want to hop on my back. I run _fast_ ," Iggy said to Larry.

The youngest Koopaling nodded, and jumped on his older brother's back. Larry held onto the edges of Iggy's shell, and yelled loudly as the crazy Koopaling took off. The hair of both Iggy and Larry swayed as Iggy dashed through the castle.

Once they entered Kooky's room, Iggy found the nearest chair, and pulled it up to Kooky's computer. He turned it on, but was immediately brought to the Login screen. It was a picture of Kooky, and in this picture, the sinister scientist was standing next to a burned Toad, and in his hands he held a modified flamethrower.

"How are we gonna get into this computer?" Larry asked Iggy.

Iggy then conjured the yellow-green magic wand. He waved it, and fired a magic blast at the computer table. A tiny object spawned right where the blast had hit. Larry picked it up, and looked if over. He saw nothing that interested him, so he put it back down. Seeing that Larry was confused, Iggy explained.

"With this tiny chip, I can hack into _any_ device with ease! It's a hacker's _dream_ tool!" Iggy exclaimed.

"You better not hack into _my_ computer. I've got some top secret information on it, and I wouldn't want it to be revealed. You understand that, right Iggs?" Larry questioned his older brother.

"I'll consider it," Iggy replied. "Now hush up! I've gotta focus if we wanna find Bowser, so shut up so I can think! The sooner we find 'em, the sooner we leave!"

"Man, you're a jerk," Larry said.

"Irrelevant...," Iggy muttered.

Iggy then plugged his device into Kooky's computer. A new, lime green Login screen appeared on top of the regular screen. It had Iggy's ominous emblem on it, and it had several images of wires and plugs sticking everywhere. Iggy signed in using an unimaginable password, and laughed as everything began to load. Once he got to the Homepage, Iggy looked in the Applications folder. He eventually found the Camera app, and found the specific camera system Kooky had placed throughout the castle. He looked through the cameras until he located Bowser. The latter was laying in a cage in the castle's dungeon. Iggy signed heavily, and he turned to face Larry, who was busy messing with the computer's plugs. Iggy slapped Larry's hand, and the younger brother pulled away, agitated.

"Get ready for some reminiscing, Larry," Iggy said, pulling his hacking tool out of the computer.

"Huh? Where are we going?" Larry asked.

"The dungeon."

* * *

"Bowser's been captured? That's not a surprise. He tends to act before thinking," Roy said.

"You're right about _that_ ," Lemmy agreed.

"Either way, Ludwig thinks we need to find and "rescue" him before we leave, so I guess we should make our move now. Hopefully, he managed to settle his little dispute with Morton," Iggy said.

"We did. It didn't last for _too_ long," Morton said. He walked over to Ludwig, and patted his older brother on the back. Ludwig reacted by giving him a bothered stare. "It's fine, Bro. No hard feelings, but I guess you're still I'm charge, _aren't_ you, Ludwig?"

"Right you are, my larger younger brother. We'll use _your_ strategy, though," Ludwig responded.

Morton's face dropped. He gave Ludwig a murderous glare, and stepped to his full height, which was high above Ludwig's. Morton loomed over Ludwig. Ludwig glanced up at his larger brother with a confused stare, then wore a serious expression once again. The other five Koopalings watched as Ludwig and Morton prepared to square off once again. Morton then bent down, and pulled Ludwig in for a bear hug. Ludwig embraced his brother for a few seconds before slowly pushing away.

"Thanks, Ludwig. I thought I'd _never_ be credited for my ideas," Morton replied.


	27. Reuniting with Bowser and Getting Peach

"Look who came _crawling_ back to me," Bowser remarked, staring at the Koopalings from his cell.

"Now is not the time to be boasting. King Koopa has separated your son and Peach from us, and we have no way of retrieving them," Larry said. "The seven of us thought that our best plan would be to get _you_ out of here so you can help _us_ get out of this dimension."

"Once we find Bowser Jr. and Peach, of course," Iggy added.

"No way."

This statement left all seven of the Koopalings shocked. The seven siblings stood with their mouths agape, not moving a muscle. Bowser looked downward at the dirty floor of the cell he was in. His massive hands were in chains, so he couldn't break the bars with his brute strength. Bowser sat, hunched over, and breathed calmly, waiting for the Koopalings to beg him for his help.

"What'd we do?" Lemmy asked.

"You forgot _already_?! _You_ brats abandoned me and Junior when we needed you the most! Because of your betrayal, I see no reason to help out when _you_ need _me_!" Bowser yelled.

"Maybe so, but we've realized our mistakes," Larry pleaded.

"Yeah! Give us another chance," Roy said.

"Try all you want. You kids aren't getting me out of this cell. I'll get out when I _feel_ like it," Bowser said.

"What about your _son?"_ Wendy asked. "I doubt Bowser Jr. could fend off King Koopa for _too_ long. As much as I hate Peach, you should probably go and help her. For Bowser Jr.'s sake, of course."

"Yeah, Wendy's right. Don't be heartless. Think about your son," Ludwig said. Iggy then laughed at Ludwig's last statement, causing Ludwig to angrily punch him. Iggy then giggled once again.

"Denial," Iggy laughed.

Bowser then cleared his throat, causing Iggy to stop laughing. Ludwig took his fist away from Iggy's shoulder, and turned to face his previous employer. All five of the other Koopalings turned their attention to Bowser as well, and the latter had a flashback of a meeting that had occurred at his castle in the past. He then came back to reality, and saw all seven of the Koopalings staring at him, waiting.

"Don't worry about Junior. I'm sure he'll be fine," Bowser tried to reassure the siblings.

"The only things he really has on King Koopa are his speed, stamina, and agility. King Koopa obviously bests him when it comes to raw power," Morton stated, folding his arms. Bowser immediately turned his attention to him, and he shrugged. "Didn't you _hear_ me? You're son's a dead man!"

"Stop worrying, Morton. You're not usually one who does that, anyways," Bowser replied to the second-youngest Koopaling. "I've said it once, and I'll say it again. You're _not_ getting me out of here,"

Morton conjured his magic mallet. He brought it backwards as far as he could, and swung. The large weapon crashed into the cell door, and it bent the metal. He brought his mallet down on the door several times, and his final strike created a huge echo that rang throughout the entire room. Roy then leapt forwards. He pulled the door off its hinges, and through it to the floor. He walked into the cell, and Morton followed. Working together, the two powerful brothers tried to move Bowser. They pushed, pulled, and shoved, but nothing worked.

Roy bent down to breathe for a few seconds. Morton realised he had to take a break too, and he became angry. Morton lowered his eyebrows. Frowning with an intense hatred, Morton charged at Bowser and made direct contact with the great Koopa's shell. The force of the impact was actually enough to knock Bowser to his stomach.

Morton flexed while laughing proudly, and Roy looked at him with a jealous expression. Roy walked over to Morton, and flexed as well, sharing the spotlight with his successful younger brother. Bowser softly growled. He gradually got off his stomach, and sat back down on the ground.

"Go away before I get mad. You kids won't like me when I'm mad," Bowser threatened.

"You won't like _us_ when _we're_ mad!" Morton yelled.

Roy and Morton worked together, and they lifted Bowser odd the ground. It wasn't an easy thing to do, and the Koopa King was barely an inch off the ground. Both Roy and Morton were breathing and sweating heavily. Bowser grinned as he watched the two of them struggle to hold him, even when they worked together. Eventually, they dropped him, and Bowser landed flat on his face.

Roy and Morton exited the cell, and they stood side-by-side as they went back to be with their siblings. "He's just too heavy! We can't lift him!" Roy exclaimed, exhuastingly leaning on Morton.

"We see," Larry said, stating the obvious. Ludwig hit him in annoyance, enraging his younger brother, who jumped on his back and grabbed his hair. Ludwig ran around, trying to knock Larry off, but the youngest Koopaling secured his grip on his older brother's head.

Iggy then ran over to them. He grabbed Larry, and took him off Ludwig. Larry still tried to claw at his older brother as his other brother took him away. Ludwig merely laughed in response. Larry got angry at Iggy, and he started to attack him. Larry covered Iggy's glasses with his hands, and the lanky Koopaling fell to the floor. Larry hopped on his shell, and started to attack him, but Ludwig pinned him down. Iggy then got back up, and started to beat up Larry with Ludwig. Wendy the jumped into the fight. She brought Iggy to the ground, where she began to fight him. Roy and Morton began to wrestle, and Lemmy jumped on the huge pile of flailing bodies that contained Ludwig, Iggy, Wendy, and Larry.

"Stop fighting! You guys have a job to do!" Bowser surprisingly yelled. He then quickly clamped his mouth shut, but it was far too late. All seven of the Koopalings had heard him.

"It looks like you still have the characteristics of a mean boss. It looks like you're trying to put them to the test. By the way, _Larry_ started it. Why did you tell at the rest of us?" Iggy questioned.

"Because the rest if you are all OLDER than Larry! The six of you have a better understanding of what is right and what is wrong! I can't believe you just accused your youngest brother off stopping something you could've easily prevented! I'm so sick of the seven of you fighting each other when you should be WORKING! You guys are the most uncoordinated, annoying minions I've EVER had!" Bowser yelled.

"Good to have you back, Lord B!" Iggy yelled, jumping up and down.

"Its good to _be_ back!" Bowser said, hopping to his feet. He marched out of his cell, and breathed fire into the air. The flames came back down in the same way confetti would. The Koopalings all cheered and celebrated as their old boss employed them once again. Lemmy even jumped on Morton's shell, and jumped up and down. Larry through his hands into the air in excitement. Roy and Wendy high-fived, and Ludwig folded his arms and laughed evilly.

"So, where to?" Lemmy asked, calming down.

"You'll see, Lemmy. You'll _see_ ," Bowser said. The great Koopa then began to exit the dungeon, and the seven Koopalings followed him. Bowser knocked the large, stone door down, and walked out the room. The Koopalings cheered, then followed in line behind him.

From there, the eight Koopas began to walk. All conversations were dropped as the eight reptiles traveled throughout the castle, ready to fight if the time called for it. Bowser took the lead, knowingly showing his large arms so any minions of King Koopa could see. Roy and Morton took the back, ready for any future brawls.

Eventually, the eight of them came to a wall that stood irregularly in the middle of a hallway. Around it laid a massive pile of rubble and debris that contained several layers of dust and dirt. Bowser ran towards the mound, and tried to force his way through it. He made it quite some distance before tiring himself out. He then sat on the ground, panting for air. Iggy and Larry then got an idea. They looked at each other and nodded in agreement. The two brothers locked arms, and began to spin like a pair of tops. Instantly, their quick movement caused a little of the rubble to move. They began to spin faster, and the garbage began to be lifted into the air. Ludwig and Lemmy then caught on. The two oldest Koopalings began to spin like their younger brothers, and all the trash cleared, revealing a very dirty red carpet.

Some of the trash landed on Wendy. She glared at her four brothers, and the four of them smiled nervously in return. Wendy then decided to let it slide, and she walked past them, followed by Roy and Morton. The other four Koopalings walked behind their siblings, and Bowser got up as soon as he had recovered from his efforts.

The eight Koopas continued to walk down the hallway, and eventually, the shapes of three figures began to come into view. Two of the figures stood side-by-side while the third figure stood away from them, bearing its claws. Walking closer, Wendy saw that these figures were Bowser Jr., Peach, and King Koopa.

"It's been _too_ long," Wendy said, casually walking towards them.

Bowser Jr. and Peach instantly turned their heads. Wendy walked towards them without a sign of happiness on her face. She merely crossed her arms.

" _Wendy_? Where did _you_ come from?" Peach exclaimed.

Wendy didn't answer verbally. Instead, she pointed behind her. Bowser Jr. and Peach then saw that Wendy's six brothers, along with Bowser, stood behind her. Bowser Jr. Instantly became happy upon seeing his dad. He ran past the Koopalings and jumped on his dad. Bowser hugged him with a great deal of joy.

The Koopalings gazed at Bowser Jr. in annoyance. A few of them (Ludwig, Wendy, and Morton) even wore angry expressions as they gazed at the Koopa prince in annoyance. The seven of them went off to the side to talk amongst one another.

"Why is he not happy to see _us_?" Larry whispered.

"We betrayed him, remeber?" Iggy answered with a smile.

"Oh, _right_."

"I remember that. It was pretty fun," Roy said.

"The three of _us_ just joined because _you_ guys did. Don't forget that," Morton said, gesturing to himself, Lemmy, and Iggy.

Bowser then put his son on the ground, and faced the Koopalings. He pointed at King Koopa, then spoke. "You seven, deal with him. _I'll_ get Peach," Bowser said. He then leapt over to Peach, and lifted her. He hoisted her over his shoulder, and began to walk away, followed by Bowser Jr.

* * *

"Honestly, I don't really _want_ to fight him. I'm actually _tired_ of fighting," Lemmy said to his siblings.

"Same here. If Bowser wants someone to take care of King Koopa, it should be _himself_ ," Larry agreed with his older brother. He then closed his eyes, and he began to pout. "We _just_ finished dealing with this guy's kids! I'm too bored to deal with the father!"

"Then don't fight him. You two can come with me, because I'm annoyed that _this_ is our first task. Roy, Iggy, Wendy, Morton, you four stay and fight him if you want. _We're_ outta here," Ludwig said.

"Thanks, Ludwig. Come on, Lemmy," Larry said to Lemmy.

Ludwig then turned his back to the other four. He began to walk away from them, and Lemmy and Larry followed close behind him. Roy, Iggy, Wendy, and Morton watched as their siblings left.

"Okay! You guys go and relax! We'll take care of 'em!" Iggy loudly yelled, cupping his hands over his mouth.

With the oldest, second-oldest, and youngest Koopalings gone, the remaining four eyes their enemy with casual expressions. Roy calmly looked at King Koopa from behind his hot pink shades. Iggy's eyes seemed to pierce right through King Koopa's soul, and the latter averted his eyes from that of the psychotic Koopaling. Wendy stood with her hands at her sides as she viewed King Koopa. Morton rested his magic mallet on his left shoulder, and stood with his left hand balled into a fist.

"Now _who_ might you clowns be?" King Koopa questioned. "I recall seeing the two of _you_ earlier, but I've never seen these ones before. After you answer that, who were those other four guys? I've seen the little guy before, but not the other three. Answer me before I execute you all!"

"Chill out, man. We're just Koopas, just like you," Roy replied.

" _Yeah_! The only difference between _you_ and _us_ is the fact that _you're_ a hideous fatty!" Iggy giggled, pointing at King Koopa. The latter's eyes narrowed in anger.

"What was that?"

"I believe you heard me. If not, I can always _torture_ you until you start hearing!" Iggy replied, laughing crazily. His eyes nearly jumped out of their sockets.

"Don't listen to _him_. He's insane," Morton said.

"For now, just know that you are clearly outnumbered. Because of that, you probably shouldn't try to joke around or make us mad," Wendy warned the villainous tyrant. "If you value your life, that is."

"Don't even think about fighting us. You won't win," Roy said.

King Koopa them aimed his glare at Roy. He took several steps and eventually stood right in front of Roy. Instinctively, Wendy and Morton hopped in front of Roy, bearing their weapons. Roy then shrugged them to the side. "Let 'em talk."

"You _still_ haven't answered my questions. Until I get answers, I'm _not_ leaving," the reptile explained.

"In that case, _we'll_ leave. Our boss already recaptured his princess, so we have no reason to stick around. It could be said the onky reason we're here is to intimidate you into staying put," Wendy said.

"Yeah, and you _fell_ for it too! _Idiot_ ," Iggy taunted King Koopa.


	28. The Regrets of the Arrogant

" _What_?" King Koopa asked, standing with his mouth agape.

"You heard us, so I think that's our cue to leave," Roy said.

Roy then turned around and began to walk away from King Koopa. Wendy and Morton immediately followed him, giving the reptilian tyrant venomous glares as they walked away. Iggy laughed loudly in King Koopa's face, causing the villain to glare coldly. The lanky Koopa then followed his siblings.

* * *

"I'm hungry, and there's nothing to _eat_...," Larry whined.

"SHUT up, Larry! You're _really_ getting on my nerves!" Bowser roared.

"My _stomach's_ getting on _my_ nerves...," Larry mumbled.

Bowser then sluggishly turned around. He saw Peach standing behind him, looking through an open window. Her hands were together, and Bowser could see she was praying. Bowser took a few lumbering steps towards her. His footsteps were easily detected by Peach.

She quickly turned around, and saw Bowser looming over her. She fearfully lowered her eyebrows, but Bowser shrugged off the action.

"We could literally leave right now, you know," Bowser said.

"What was that?" Peach asked, turning to him in curiosity.

"Nothing is preventing us from leaving, so what's holding you back? We could finally go home,' Bowser explained to her. He looked upwards and saw a large window. It was crystal clear, and the rays of the abundant sun were seeping through.

Peach looked down at her knees for several seconds. She was in thought. She then slowly turned to him, and Bowser stared into her beautiful blue eyes. She then rapidly turned her head upon acknowledging this action.

"I'm just not completely alright with going back with _you_ guys. I'm sorry...," Peach said.

"Unfortunately for you, going with us is your only chance of getting back home. Unless you want to her that _freak, Kooky,_ to make a portal for you, you're pretty much screwed. Mario nor Luigi nor that stupid dinosaur are around to help you. It looks like you have to face your problems, so do it," Ludwig coldly said.

Bowser changed his peaceful tone into one of great rage. He turned to the eldest Koopaling, and gave him a murderous glare. Ludwig, in turn, gave him a cold frown. Peach tried to intervene by speaking her mind.

"Stop it, you two! Calm down so we can get out of here!" Peach commanded.

"The last time I checked, _you_ don't tell me what to do," Ludwig responded.

"In that case, _I_ do. I command you to step down at once! Also, apologize to the Princess! **Immediately!"** Bowser demanded, pointing a clawed finger at Ludwig.

"Why should I?"

"Because you and your siblings pledged your allegiance to me less than an _hour_ ago! Do what I say before I fry you for your disobedience!" Bowser ordered.

"I believe I am busy reading, so I shall be doing nothing of the sort," Ludwig said.

"Yes you will!" Bowser yelled.

"I don't see how. If you really want everything to go as you planned, _make_ me."

The door to the room suddenly opened. Bowser, Bowser Jr., Peach, Ludwig, Lemmy, and Larry instantly turned their attention to the door. The doorknob was twisted around from the outside, and it was then pushed forwards. Everyone heard the sounds of heels getting closer to them. Into the room walked Wendy.

"Wendy? Where are Roy, Iggy, and Morton?" Bowser Jr. asked.

"Iggy thought it would be a good idea to look throughout the castle's cameras, so he went back to Kooky's room. Roy and Morton agreed to pose as his bodyguards. I didn't see any point in sticking around, so I decided to come here," Wendy explained.

"That's nice and all, Wendy, but can you please get your oldest brother for me?" Bowser said.

"Wendy, come near me and there _will_ be consequences," Ludwig warned her.

"Jeez...What's _your_ problem?" Wendy snapped.

"Life," Larry responded.

Ludwig balled up his fist and shook it at Larry. The latter merely laughed at his older brother's display. Lemmy could tell that things would continue to go downhill if Ludwig wasn't removed, and immediately.

"What about _this_? Me, Wendy, and Larry are gonna go outside while you three have your little conversation," Lemmy said.

The second-oldest Koopaling stood up from his seat. He turned towards his two younger siblings and be features towards them. Wendy and Larry agreed to play along, and they followed Lemmy outside. Larry closed the door behind himself as he left.

"I believe Lemmy said the _three_ of us," Bowser said, sourly staring at Ludwig.

"He _did_. Get out, Ludwig," Bowser Jr. said.

"I believe I will. I've had enough of you people anyway," Ludwig replied.

Ludwig then stood up, and he began to walk towards the door. He pushed the door open and walked outside, joining his younger siblings. The door closed on its own behind him, and those in the room heard the sounds of Ludwig talking with the younger three.

"Am I really that bad?" Bowser questioned, getting down to the ground beside Peach.

Peach could tell that the great Koopa was somewhat hurt. She looked over at him and saw his red eyes clouding over with sorrow. It appeared that Bowser had finally mastered the state of being remorseful. The blonde princess was about to give him a sympathetic pat on the shoulder, but she decided against it. Bowser Jr. gave his father a hug.

Peach's heart was warmed as she witnessed the characteristics of a good father-son relationship. She smiled as Bowser accepted his son's embrace without a struggle. Both of them had their eyes closed.

"No, Bowser. You are far from being a heartless monster," Peach answered.

"You sure about that?" Bowser doubtfully asked.

"Come on, Dad. You're embarrassing yourself in front of Peach," Bowser Jr. said to his father.

The Koopa prince tried to nudge his father. Bowser merely ignored the heir to his throne and turned his attention to Peach. He gazed over at her, and Peach tried to avert her eyes, but failed. She gave in and began to talk to him.

"Look, Bowser. You can't make someone love you. No matter how much you try, it'll never happen. You've tried to make me your own for _years_ now. In my opinion, it's gotten truly ridiculous. You _can_ be sweet sometimes, you know. Unfortunately, that side of you is usually hidden by the selfish, greedy reptile that stands before me."

"I've tried enough times to the point where I lost track of my goal for a while. Originally, I just wanted the Mushroom Kingdom. When I stormed into your castle, however, I saw your face...," Bowser said.

"Then you developed an uncontrollable crush on me, and attempted to capture and make me your wife for the next I don't-know- _how-_ many years!" Peach yelled.

"True. During the time when you, Mario, the green guy, and that fungus freak went to Subcon, I decided to work on my army. I began to bring even _more_ races of Koopas into my army. While searching for a good place for a bay one day, I just happened to find the Koopalings wandering around. I made them my elite minions, and then we _attacked,"_ Bowser said.

"That's another thing that's strong with you! You risk the lives and wellbeings of _kids_! Even your own _son_! Is your pride all you truly care about?!" Peach burst with rage and repulsion.

"Of course not," Bowser said softly. He sat on the ground, hunched over. He looked downwards and found his eyes staring at those of _his_ son. Bowser put his large, scaly hand over his son's head. "I'm sorry, Junior. I guess I let my pride get the best of me."

"Ya _think_?" Peach sarcastically remarked.

"I love you, Dad," Bowser Jr. said, embracing his father once again.

"Me too, Son. I apologize for my selfish behavior. I've been a horrible father, and I will change my terrible, repulsive ways," Bowser apologetically replied to Bowser Jr.

"You don't have to, Dad. Everything is already fine," Bowser Jr. said.

Bowser happily accepted his son's hug. A large, proud grin instantly appeared on his face. Peach's eyes widened with luminous joy. Peach clapped her hands loudly and grinned widely. Bowser set his eyes on her.

"So, then. Will you join me? Not as your lover, but your rescuer. Whatd 'ya say?" Bowser asked.

"Yes, Bowser. I will," Peach responded.

"I just said _not_ as your lover. It sounded like you just agreed to marry me," Bowser laughed.

Peach joined him, and laughed. She slugged him in the arm, which caused Bowser to laugh much harder. He then stopped laughing. Peach didn't notice this in time. The second she lowered her arms and began to ask Bowser a question, he wrapped his massive arms around her, and hugged her. Peach was so shocked that she forgot to return the embrace.

Bowser smiled at her, and Peach smiled back. She hugged _him_ _this_ time. Bowser laughed as he hugged his crush. Bowser Jr. jumped on his father's back and began to laugh with them.

* * *

"It sounds like they're having a heartfelt moment in there," Wendy said, listening to the conversation being emitted from the mouths of Bowser, Bowser Jr., and Peach.

"I hear it too. It's actually sort of heartwarming," Larry said with awe.

"Yeah," Wendy agreed with her youngest brother.

"It sort of makes me wish _we_ were having a heartfelt moment," Lemmy said to them.

"Me too," Larry sadly replied.

"Weaklings..."

Lemmy, Wendy, and Larry instantly turned to Ludwig in retaliation. The eldest Koopaling was sitting on the other side of the door, away from the three of them. Ludwig was sitting with his shelled back against the wall. He was reading a book.

"What was that?" Lemmy casually asked.

"Oh. I just said you guys are weaklings."

"What gives you _that_ idea?" Wendy inquired.

"You guys were just desiring to have a heartfelt moment. That type of moment is always associated with emotions. Emotions are for the weak," Ludwig said. He then stood up, bringing his book up with him. Ludwig held the book in his left hand, then pointed at it with his right hand. "Reading for so many years and building up knowledge has supplied me with all I need to know to survive. Everything is based around logic. Everything _happens_ for a reason, and everything _exists_ for a reason. It's simple that I'm surprised _you_ three, half of my idiotic younger siblings, couldn't figure it out."

""Idiotic younger siblings"?! Is that all you see us as, Ludwig?!" Wendy raged.

"Perhaps."

"Are you trying to say we're weak for _caring_ about each other?" Larry asked.

"Yes, Larry. As I told you were seconds ago, everything is determined by logic. Nothing can beat logic, so there's no point in trying. Little morons like you go around with your _stupid_ emotions, trying to change the properties of reality. You _disgust_ me."

"Well you disgust _us_! All we've ever tried to do is care about each other, and you try to ruin it with your stupid logistics and statistics!" Lemmy blurted out.

"Blame the book," Ludwig interrupted, holding up the novel.

"We're siblings from a broken home! We've got to stick together!" Lemmy yelled.

"Yeah, Ludwig! You're being a total _douche_ for no reason!" Wendy yelled.

"Back to your uncomplex, limited vocabulary, I assume," Ludwig said.

"Lemmy, Larry, you guys take over! I'm done!" Wendy yelled.

Wendy then sat down, her back against the wall. She raised her knees up, and rested her head on them. She comforted her head by encompassing them with her arms. She closed her eyes and began the attempt to cool off.

"Ludwig, You're attacking your own _siblings!_ We're trying to help you!" Lemmy said.

"You guys bore me. I was looking forward to a decent argument, but you dimwits _clearly_ aren't capable of that. I'm getting back to my book, which is billions of times more educated than _you_ all put _together_. Don't bother me," Ludwig said, ignoring Lemmy's comment.

Ludwig sat back down. He flipped to a random page in the book, and he began to read. Ludwig raised his knees, and propped his book against them.

Larry had had it, however. Larry stomped over to his eldest brother, and looked over him. Ludwig immediately noticed Larry's shadow on his book, but he continued to read, believing Larry would soon stop pestering him. This did not happen, so Ludwig began to speak.

"What is it, Larry? Have you come to apologize?" Ludwig asked. He then looked down at his wrist, acting like a wristwatch was there. "Y'know, It's actually about the time one of you idiots usually com-."

Ludwig gave his youngest brother a murderous glare as he wiped the blood off his snout. His eyes lowered even further as he looked at his brother with incomprehensible rage. Larry laughed triumphantly as he watched Ludwig do so.

Ludwig then darted forwards. He kicked Larry in the stomach, sending the youngest Koopaling to the ground. Larry glared up at his older brother. In turn, Ludwig mockingly laughed as he slowly came closer.

Lemmy ran In between Ludwig and Larry, trying to break up the fight. He turned his back to Larry, and put his arms out as far as they could go.

"Move, Lemmy," Ludwig and Larry said simultaneously.

"In _that_ case, I hope you _both_ die," Lemmy replied to them.

Lemmy left them. He walked over to Wendy and stood up against the wall. He then watched as the fight continued to unfold.

Larry jumped up from the floor. He picked Ludwig on the back of the leg, causing Ludwig to be forcefully bent over. Larry took this chance to jump on Ludwig's back. He grabbed onto his older brother's hair, and pulled it tightly. Ludwig darted around wildly, trying to shake Larry off. He soon succeeded.

Larry landed on his back. He tried to get back up, but Ludwig punched him in the stomach. As Larry knelt over in pain, Ludwig picked him up. Ludwig raised him into the air, and roughly threw him back down.

Larry got into his shell. He charged into Ludwig's leg, sending the latter toppling to the floor. Larry got out if his shell, and jumped back over to Ludwig. He kicked his older brother in the face. Ludwig covered his face with his arms and blocked all of Larry's attempts. This eventually annoyed the youngest Koopaling. Larry got on Ludwig and grabbed the latter's arms. Larry pulled them back as far as he could.

"Doesn't feel good, _does_ it?" Larry taunted him.

"You little _brat...,"_ Ludwig muttered.

Ludwig flipped Larry over. Larry lost his grip on Ludwig's arms. The eldest Koopaling pinned his youngest brother to the floor. He grinned nastily as Larry attempted to get up. The latter failed, and Ludwig began to laugh at his brother's failed attempts. Lemmy and Wendy looked on in utter silence as their brothers fought.

"All we've ever tried to do you is be your little siblings. Is that not good enough?" Larry questioned, frowning with hatred.

"You know I have trouble opening up to people. I'm sorry," Ludwig responded.

He was deeply hurt upon realizing what Larry had just said. Being the eldest, Ludwig thought he would have to be secretive and cold in personality. He had done this, but this left hid siblings wondering if he really cared about them or not. His most recent display of actions made them question this even further.

Ludwig then got off Larry and walked further down the hallway. He sat down with his head pointed downwards. Larry watched in silence as his brother began to regret his actions. He looked over at Lemmy. The second-oldest Koopaling nodded in quiet agreement.

Larry walked over to Ludwig, and stood beside him. He knelt down beside his oldest brother and leaned on him. Ludwig opened his eyes and gave Larry a slight smile. Larry offered a handshake to Ludwig. The latter responded by trapping him in a tight embrace.

"Let's put this behind us and make it a thing of the past. Deal?" Ludwig asked.

"Deal."

Footsteps were coming from down the hall, and all four of them turned to see Roy, Iggy, and Morton approaching. Roy and Morton held Kooky in their hands as they walked.

"The coast is clear, but we ave a hostage," Iggy said.

"Just in case," Roy said.

"Good. Let's get out of this place!" Lemmy exclaimed.


	29. The Simple Plan

The seven Koopalings sat outside the room that currently contained Bowser, Bowser Jr., and Peach. A mental battlefield had taken place both inside and outside the room. Peach caused Bowser to lose his composure. Bowser had actually regretted a few of the choices he had made. The main reason for this was because of his tendency to harm others all for the sake of his empire.

Ludwig, previously driven by knowledge and the library he had for a brain, had caused Larry to snap due to his lack of emotion towards his siblings. Larry had tried to overpower his older brother, but Ludwig naturally ended up on top. Eventually, Ludwig regained his senses and apologized to his younger siblings for his actions.

"How long have we been here for?" Larry asked.

"Don't ask me. I lost all sense of time when we were sent underground," Roy responded.

"I remember that. Such an indescribable misfortune," Ludwig sighed, folding his arms.

"Once we get out of here, I need to sleep for at least _two weeks_ straight! Staying awake for such a long time has irritated me to the limit. Iggy, once I've rested up, I'm gonna ruin Kooky's face!" Morton growled.

Morton's siblings all smiled and laughed. It was very common for Morton to claim to get back at someone once they wronged him. This was something the cantankerous, second-youngest Koopaling was well-known for.

"Well, that'll be hard to do," Iggy said.

"Huh? Why is that?"

"After our mission is over, I'm gonna dismantle the portal."

"Why would you do _that?!"_ Morton yelled.

"To cut off the link to _our_ dimension. Right, Iggy?" Ludwig responded.

"Yeah. We wouldn't want a repeat of what happened here," Iggy said.

Morton knelt down to the ground. He slammed his fist down the ground, causing an echoing sound to consume the hallway. Larry covered his ears and got low to the ground. He immediately got up. Shockwaves them began to form from the mighty action. Larry, along with all of his siblings, except for Roy and Morton, fell to the floor.

Roy growled. He put a firm hand on his younger brother's shoulder, causing Morton to focus on him. Roy put his other hand into the air.

"Calm down, bro. I'm ready to go home, so I don't need you messing up my chances," Roy said.

"If that's the case, maybe you should've let me knock Kooky around earlier. Maybe I would be calmer if you would've let me do that."

"You always weild your anger like a weapon. It always causes conflicts among us," Ludwig said.

The eldest Koopaling then stood to his feet with a grown. The force caused by Morton's hit had caused his legs to become sore for a short while. Ludwig then helped Larry to his feet. Lemmy and Wendy, followed by Iggy, followed suit.

"If you're so concerned about it, why don't you do something about It? Oh, wait. I forgot you _can't_ ," Morton responded, pushing Roy's arm away.

"Morton, there's no reason to get mad at _us._ You're mad at _Kooky,_ remember?" Lemmy inquired.

A loud _SMACK!_ was heard as Lemmy was hit by his taller siblings. Wendy then pushed him to the ground, and the other four began to kick him in his sides.

"That's _right._ It was that brat _Kooky_ that trapped us down there," Morton said, pointing to the ground. He then turned to face the others. "Sorry, guys, but I gotta go back."

"No you _don't,"_ Roy quickly said.

"And you _won't,"_ Larry added.

The door suddenly opened, and the seven siblings turned to see Bowser, Bowser Jr., and Peach enter into the hallway. The three of them stood across from the Koopalings. An annoyed glance caused Ludwig, Roy, Iggy, Wendy, and Larry to stop attacking Lemmy.

Lemmy got up dazily, then proceeded to stand to his feet. He gingerly rubbed his green head and turned to glare at his taller siblings. Larry playfully stuck his tongue out at Lemmy.

Bowser stepped forward and separated Lemmy and Larry, preventing the two from beginning a fight. This gave Peach the opportunity to take the floor.

"It's only a matter of time before King Koopa assembles a search party and comes after us, so we should probably leave while we still can. It'll be hard to do if you seven keep constantly fighting!"

"Watch your tone, your _Magesty._ You don't boss us around," Iggy giggled.

"Plus, we're siblings. We're programmed to fight every few minutes. They are, at least," Ludwig added, gesturing towards his younger siblings, who all nodded with grins in return.

"That's fair," Larry said.

"It doesn't matter if you guys are siblings. We need you to control yourselves at least for the next thirty minutes. That's how long I predict it will take to leave the castle. So please. Work with me so we can all get out of here. You guys don't like _me._ I don't like any of you, _especially_ Wendy...," Peach began.

"Keep talking and see what happens," Wendy threatened, cracking her knuckles.

Larry stepped forward, and held Wendy's arms behind her back. Wendy began spewing threats at Larry, and the latter struggled to keep his older sister in check. Lemmy left the other side of Bowser, and ran towards them. He jumped on Wendy's back, and wrapped his arms around Wendy's face.

"Both of you, let go of me before I make you!"

Larry then pushed forwards, causing Wendy, along with Lemmy, to fall on the ground. Larry jumped on Wendy, and he and Lemmy worked together to keep Wendy on the ground so she wouldn't start any fights or arguments with Peach. Larry grabbed Wendy's arms once again, and gripped them tightly. Wendy began thrashing around, trying to shake them off, but she only succeeded in tiring herself out. She gave up and laid motionlessly on the floor, with two of her brothers weighing her down. Iggy laughed at her and Wendy merely rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"I've calmed down. Please continue," Wendy said to Peach.

"Okay. If the ten of us travel together in a huge group, our success is practically guaranteed. We'll still outnumber King Koopa and all of his children if they happen to come for us," Peach continued.

"Do you even know which way the exit is?" Ludwig inquired, leveling his eyebrows.

"No, but we can just make our _own_ exit if we need to."

Roy put an arm around Morton, and the two powerful Koopas laughed simultaneously. The two of them were about to be put to their favorite task: breaking stuff. Bowser crossed his arms and grinned, ready to leave King Koopa' s castle.

"I think we're clear then. Lemmy, Larry, let Wendy up. It's time to leave."

"About time," Wendy yawned, gradually standing to her feet.

"I'll just come back once we get home. I'll track Kooky down and beat him senseless," Morton vowed.

Lemmy and Iggy chucked to themselves.

"Not in that way!"

Morton then ran at them, causing Lemmy and Iggy to run for their lives.


	30. Hallway?

"Walk faster, you brats! Going slow isn't gonna get us outta here!" Bowser roared to the Koopalings.

"You're not exactly walking fast, you know. You just have very large feet, so you cover more ground when you walk. There's a major difference between the two, you know," Ludwig replied.

"Less talk, more walk! At this rate, I should've abandoned you already," Bowser said back. Peach gave him a stern look, and Bowser quickly went on the defensive. " _What_? They're not _my_ kids!"

The group consisting of Bowser, Bowser Jr., Peach, Ludwig, Lemmy, Roy, Iggy, Wendy, Morton and Larry then went through a set of large, stone doors. This led them into a hallway, where they continued to march without rest. The hallways were dimly lit by a dozen candles that were scattered throughout the long, narrow hall. As they kept walking, it appeared that they weren't moving.

"What in the world?" Bowser blurted in surprise.

He was sure he had already passed the candle that now rested on the wall right beside him. His eyes increased in size as he gazed at it curiously. A small glimmer of light suddenly appeared in the shape of a circle. Bowser got close to the candle. This was to the point where his eye lens nearly grazed the candle. The light then intensified and Bowser was blasted on the eye.

"Bwahahahahahahahahaahaha!" Iggy exploded with laughter.

Bowser Jr. and Roy punched Iggy in his shoulders, and Larry tackled his older brother to the ground. Ludwig decided to intervene before a full-out brawl broke out among his siblings.

He howled and quickly covered it with both of his massive hands. He began to dart around wildly, quickly succumbing to the pain. He fell to the red carpet, where he rolled around wildly, clawing and the wall and the carpet. The tyrannical Koopa then bolted up and dashed towards the far end of the hall, then dropped. He seemed to involuntarily roll back to the others. By now, the major throbbing of his pain was gone.

"It happened _again!"_ Bowser roared, growling in annoyance at the candle.

"You can't go around getting angry at inanimate objects, Bowser. We need to think this through before we plan our next move," Peach said.

"Screw that! I'm taking this problem head-on!"

Bowser got into his shell. He spun in place for several seconds, building up his velocity. He then charged, and flew down the hallway. This actually caused all the lights to go out, and Bowser finally reached his destination. He stood with his arms raised as he laughed triumphantly.

"Um...," Lemmy said, pointing at Bowser.

"Don't tell him. He'll find out eventually," Wendy said.

Upon hearing that, Bowser opened his eyes to see everyone staring at him, unimpressed. His jaw dropped and he balled his hand into a fist. He punched the wall. A piece of the ceiling fell down and hit Wendy on the head. Iggy laughed loudly. Wendy walked over to Iggy. She pushed Larry off of him. Wendy jumped on Iggy and she began to beat him up.

"They're siblings. You won't be stopping _that_ anytime soon," Ludwig said to Peach, pointing to Iggy and Wendy.

"Nope," Larry said, hugging the annoyed Ludwig.

"Maybe you're right. I need you to work with me so we can decide on what to do," Peach.

"We'll need Iggy, too. He's an expert on mechanics."

"Before you do anything, let's think this through. Everytime we try to advance, we end up right where we started. I can't think of another answer besides mechanical devices," Peach said.

"Or maybe it could be magic," Lemmy said, not facing anyone.

" _Magic_?!" Everyone blurted, turning their attention to the shortest Koopaling.

"Yeah. Our magic wands exist, don't they? It would be stupid to rule out the possibility of magic when there's magic right here," Lemmy explained. He conjured the green magic wand and twirled it around in his hand. "See? I'm not a total disappointment, guys."

"No, you still are," Larry said. Peach giggled in return.

As they talked they discussed their next move, Bowser repeatedly tried to beat the hallway, with an outcome that wasn't positive. After being sent back another time, he tried jumping several times to see if that would do anything. It seemed like the displacement increases when Bowser thought he had beaten the system. Once he discovered this, he tried to run, but he was very large and he was already sluggish. He collapsed with his eyes closed.

"Lemmy, give me your circus ball," Roy ordered once Bowser returned.

"Huh? No way!"

"I need to try something, and I need the ball."

Lemmy then grew a pouting expression. He conjured a circus ball, and kicked it at Roy. The ball hit him in the face, knocking his shades off. Roy instantly covered the space beneath them, not letting anyone get a glimpse at what was always hidden underneath. Roy shook his other fist at Lemmy.

"Guys, please don't fight. We already have that going on," Ludwig said, rolling his eyes.

Wendy was sitting square on Iggy's back. The hyperactive Koopaling was still laughing, but the volume and speed of the emissions were decreasing. Wendy put her legs around Iggy's face, and grabbed his arms. She pulled them back as far as she could. Iggy shook her off of him, and tried to stand back up. Wendy tripped him and Iggy landed on his shell. Wendy jumped on him and started punching at him.

"Okay, okay. You win!" Iggy yelled, aching.

"If you give up now, I'll identify you as a seat until we get back. So always be prepared to be sat on. Think about what you're getting into the next time you decide to laugh at me or attack me," Wendy warned, glaring at her older brother.

"Love you, sis," Iggy said weakly.

"Sure...," Wendy replied, getting off Iggy.

"Wow, you showed him. What was that?" Peach asked, her mouth agape in shock.

"It's called having six brothers," Wendy responding, piercing into Peach's blue eyes with her own. "By the way, for letting you off easy, you owe me ice cream for an entire week."

Ludwig then stepped up to Wendy. He shoved her to the side and put a hand to her face before she could hit him. He pulled Iggy to his feet. "Get up, you dunce. We need you to help us."

"How can I be of service?" Iggy asked, still dazed.

Ludwig glared at Wendy in annoyance. Wendy rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. Lemmy gave Wendy the "Boi" sign. She merely stared at him.

"Don't stare at me. It's your fault Iggy is still like _this_ ," Lemmy said, sticking his tongue out at his younger sister.

"Yeah. Whenever we mess something up, you seem to be one of the ones to cause most of it. Maybe you could be more cooperative with us, your brothers. Wendy, we're all you have. Don't take us for granted," Ludwig agreed.

"You guys get too defensive. I was just kidding," Wendy said.

As they talked, Roy and Morton threw Lemmy's circus ball down the hallway, only for it to return. They tried it again, but they got the same result. Bowser soon joined them, confident that his strength would not fail him.

As Ludwig and the others talked, they felt the presence of eight figures approach them from the darkness. King Koopa and his children stood on the carpet and gazed at the ten of them, amused.


End file.
